Sanctions
See also the International Labour Organisation (under Labour Rights in Human Rights) and \Debate on Investment in Burma\ under Economy > Foreign Investment
Individual Documents
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"Summary: The situation in Myanmar (Burma) is grave. The Myanmar military, the Tatmadaw, is
continuing its violent crackdown on protestors, which has led to hundreds of deaths and
thousands of disappearances. A crisis of this scale requires swift, coordinated action,
and the many thousands of people who have been displaced by the violence urgently
require humanitarian assistance.
The UK holds a number of unique roles and responsibilities which allow it to lead on
preventing further violence and ensuring essential humanitarian support reaches those
who need it. The Government has taken some strong measures in response to the coup
and the violence, but there is much more that it can do. In this report we recommend a
number of actions the UK Government should take to help reduce the violence against
civilians. At a time when the Government is planning greater engagement with the
Indo-Pacific, Myanmar presents a test of how effective our policy in the region can be.
We recommend that the Government take further steps to secure a binding arms
embargo on Myanmar, widen its sanctions approach to include a much broader range
of people and organisations, provide humanitarian and logistical support to ethnic
advocacy and media organisations, and take steps to ensure that those perpetrating
these crimes will face justice in the future.
Effective mediation in Myanmar requires concrete action. Failure to do so in the past
has led to the crisis we see today. Failure to do so in the future will only lead to further
violence, instability and loss of life.....Introduction: 1. In February 2021, the Myanmar military staged a coup which led to the deposition and
detention of the country’s democratically elected representatives, and the military taking
control of the country. The protests and violence that have followed the coup have led to
hundreds of deaths, thousands of disappearances, and tens to hundreds of thousands of
displaced people. Evidence from diaspora groups paints a harrowing picture: many speak
of family members who have been unlawfully detained and many others who are beyond
contact.1
2. The Tatmadaw2 staged this coup and declared a state of national emergency following
their claims that the 2020 General Election was compromised by mass voter fraud. It
has provided no evidence for these claims.3 The election has been found by international
observers to “reflect the true will of the electorate”.4
3. While there has been much international condemnation of the coup and the military
junta’s violence against protestors, there has been little substantial action taken. Months
on from the coup, clear proof that the junta is committing serious crimes against the
Myanmar people continues to surface regularly. Statements of condemnation have not
and will not prevent these crimes—only clear action will.
4. The need for this action is urgent. Dr Sasa, the Minister for International Cooperation
in the democratically elected National Unity Government (NUG), said:
It is a pivotal movement in our history. The darkest hour in our history
which was heading to the great civil war and genocide. Some 54 million
brave people of Myanmar are facing the cruellest military junta.5
The UK has a unique role to play. As the United Nations Security Council ‘penholder’ on
Myanmar, and as an accepted Dialogue Partner to the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN),6 there are several fronts on which the UK can exert further diplomatic
influence. This crisis is also a major test of the effectiveness of the UK’s tilt to the IndoPacific region, as announced in the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development
and Foreign Policy.7 If the Government is serious about building its influence in the region
it should show a willingness to take moral leadership and prevent further conflict and loss
of life. This report sets out what more the UK Government could and should do..."
Source/publisher:
House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee
Date of publication:
2021-07-13
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-18
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Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, National Unity Government (NUG), ASEAN-Burma relations, Sanctions - general, The discussion on humanitarian assistance to Burma, Business and the Military, Sanctions, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"A crucial update has occurred in the developing conflict going on in Myanmar. Following the February 1st military coup of Myanmar’s 10-year-old fledgling democracy, humanitarian concerns have caused the region to become a subject of international focus. While not only violently overthrowing a democratic government and detaining a democratic leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, the Myanmar military has once again resumed the targeted killings of the Rohingya ethnic minority living within the region. These actions, while not only morally reprehensible, have also positioned the new Myanmar Regime directly against the United States and the European Union (EU). The Myanmar Regime’s direct conflict with the EU and the Liberal Hegemony has ultimately resulted in the EU’s third leveling of sanctions against the Southeast Asian nation.
Following the February 1st overthrow, the nation erupted into pro-democracy protests that prompted a military crackdown. While the military junta contests these activist group’s numbers, (suggesting that they are in fact much lower), Reuters cites the group’s observation that 860 people have been killed by the junta since February 1st and over 4500 people have been jailed. This clear and ever-mounting chaos has failed to be stopped by previous EU sanctions and diplomatic efforts, which previously formed a blacklist of various Myanmar military officials and government-owned businesses. While the current update has been expanded to address some 43 officials and six military-owned entities, it is important to note that these particular measures have been crafted to target the timber and gems economic sectors. As both of these sectors are currently under the junta’s control, the EU argues that “by targeting the gems and timber sectors, these measures are aimed at restricting the junta’s ability to profit from Myanmar’s natural resources, while being crafted so as to avoid undue harm to the people of Myanmar.” While the EU has also allocated 20.5 million euros in humanitarian aid to provide support to refugees from the crisis, other groups have begun to be skeptical about whether the European Union is doing enough for the region.
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) has begun to argue that the EU’s actions while signaling that they will continue to pressure the Myanmar junta are largely symbolic. They note how the three entities added to the list, Myanmar Gems Enterprise, Myanmar Timber Enterprise, and Forest Products Joint Venture Corporation, are only a small part of the regime’s foreign currency revenues. The FIDH instead points to Myanmar’s natural gas reserves which generate approximately an annual one billion U.S. dollars in revenue for the regime, or about one-third of the regime’s total income. This is the largest source of the regime’s income coming from the selling of Myanmar’s natural reserves to oil and gas giants such as Total (France based), Chevron (U.S.), Posco (South Korea), PTT (Thailand), China National Petroleum Corporation (China) or Petronas (Malaysia). It is important to note that of this list, three of the major giants are based in either EU members or close EU allies countries. Going even further, this list of sanctions has also failed to seize the military’s largest foreign stocks, foreign bank accounts, and central bank reserves. Ultimately, the FIDH argues that the EU’s actions are simply too timid, and instead calls for the “EU to work in coordination with like-minded jurisdictions to explore all options available, including the possibility to prohibit all financial transactions whose ultimate beneficiary is the Tatmadaw [Myanmar military].” While certain individuals might be taken aback by the aggressive approach and the potential that it might damage Myanmar’s people unduly, it is important to recognize that the points the FIDH have made challenge the credibility of the EU as an institution that is fully committed to the humanitarian wellbeing of the Myanmar people and Myanmar’s democracy.
While the list of the natural oil reserves was relatively short, it is important to recognize that three of the seven companies are housed in regions with “like-minded jurisdictions”. With that being said, it is fair to argue that such an attempt to limit those three companies directly profiteering from the exploitation of the Myanmar military, would be hindered by the massive political lobbying force that these oil corporations wield. What this means is that once again, the power that massive corporations hold over democratic institutions is obstructing the wellbeing of humanitarian citizens. This argument could also be extended to include the massive influence of private banking interests, and their obstructions to humanitarian aid. While all of that is a lot more speculatory, it must be noted that the current state of EU sanctions on the Tatmadaw is showing to have little effect..."
Source/publisher:
The Organization for World Peace
Date of publication:
2021-07-09
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-09
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"We welcome the Council’s decision to proceed with this important dialogue.
Myanmar once again stands at a precipice, threatening to become an international human rights pariah. Since the February 1 coup, the military junta has arbitrarily detained thousands and killed hundreds, including dozens of children. Legislators from the elected government remain detained incommunicado.
The civilian population lives under a constant fear of arbitrary arrest and detention. Journalists, lawyers, doctors, and students face increased intimidation and threats. Those who had been held in interrogation centers and prisons describe widespread torture and ill-treatment.
The military-controlled State Administration Council (SAC) continues to restrict the internet and has ramped-up phone and internet surveillance, cutting critical information amid a global pandemic and political crisis. The junta has also exploited the political instability to launch new, abusive military operations in ethnic minority areas across the country, displacing hundreds of thousands.
The Special Rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar has issued strong calls for a global arms embargo against the junta alongside targeted sanctions against junta members, and for businesses to reassess their economic dealings with the military.
Concerned states should urgently adopt or enhance targeted sanctions on the junta leadership and on military-owned companies, such as the oil and gas entities that keep the junta in power.
The UN General Assembly has urged member states to halt arms transfers to Myanmar. The UN Security Council should follow through and impose a global arms embargo to help prevent further military abuses.
The only way back from the precipice is the restoration of an elected civilian government that delivers on its commitments to address the root causes of Myanmar’s human rights crisis. These include ensuring equality and non-discrimination for all ethnic groups in Myanmar, notably recognition of Rohingya citizenship and other basic rights.
We encourage the Special Rapporteur and High Commissioner to provide intersessional briefings as needed so that this Council can take all measures necessary to respond to this unfolding crisis..."
Source/publisher:
HRC47: Interactive Dialogue with Special Rapporteur on Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-07-07
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sanctions - general, Sanctions, Human Rights and international relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 22 individuals connected to Burma’s military regime.
Among the individuals sanctioned today are seven key members of Burma’s military, which continues to repress the pro-democracy movement in the country and use lethal force against the people of Burma, including children and members of ethnic minority groups. The other 15 individuals are the spouses or adult children of previously designated senior Burmese military officials whose financial networks have contributed to military officials’ ill-gotten gains. OFAC designated all these individuals pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14014, “Blocking Property with Respect to the Situation in Burma.” These sanctions are not directed at the people of Burma.
“The military’s suppression of democracy and campaign of brutal violence against the people of Burma are unacceptable,” said Andrea Gacki, Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control. “Today’s action demonstrates that the United States will continue to impose increasing costs on Burma’s military and promote accountability for those responsible for the military coup and ongoing violence, including by targeting sources of revenue for the military and its leaders.”
These measures complement new restrictions announced today by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) on four entities that have provided support to Burma’s military. Effective July 2, BIS added the following four entities to the Department of Commerce Entity List set forth in Supp. No. 4 to Part 744 of the Export Administration Regulations, 15 CFR Parts 730-774 (EAR): King Royal Technologies Co., Ltd., a telecommunications company providing satellite communication services to Burma’s military, as well as Wanbao Mining and its two subsidiaries, Myanmar Wanbao Mining Copper, Ltd. and Myanmar Yang Tse Copper, Ltd., copper mining companies that provide support to Burma’s military through revenue-sharing arrangements with Myanma Economic Holdings Limited, which Treasury designated on March 25, 2021 pursuant to E.O. 14014. As a consequence of their addition to the Entity List, a license requirement applies to all items subject to the EAR that are destined for the four entities, and BIS will review any license applications under a review policy of a presumption of denial.
As part of today’s action, the following seven individuals, who are members of Burma’s military regime, are designated pursuant to E.O. 14014 for being foreign persons who are or were leaders or officials of the Government of Burma on or after February 2, 2021:
Saw Daniel, Banyar Aung Moe, and Aye Nu Sein are members of the State Administrative Council (SAC), the body created by the military on February 2, 2021 to support its unlawful overthrow of the democratically elected civilian government, and which Treasury designated on May 17, 2021 pursuant to E.O. 14014;
Chit Naing is the Minister for Information;
Aung Naing Oo is the Minister for Investment and Foreign Economic Relations;
Myint Kyaing is the Minister for Labor, Immigration, and Population; and
Thet Thet Khine is the Minister of Social Welfare, Relief, and Resettlement.
In addition to the individuals identified above, the following 15 individuals are designated pursuant to E.O. 14014 for being a spouse or adult child of a person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 14014.
Kyu Kyu Hla is the spouse of SAC Chairman Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, whom Treasury designated on February 11, 2021;
Than Than Nwe is the spouse of SAC Vice Chairman Vice Senior General Soe Win, whom Treasury designated on February 11, 2021;
Thet Thet Aung is the spouse of SAC member General Mya Tun Oo, whom Treasury designated on February 11, 2021;
Than Than Aye is the spouse of SAC member Admiral Tin Aung San, whom Treasury designated on February 11, 2021;
Aung Mar Myint is the spouse of SAC member General Maung Maung Kyaw, whom Treasury designated on February 22, 2021;
Khaing Pa Pa Chit is the spouse of SAC member Lieutenant General Moe Myint Tun, whom Treasury designated on February 22, 2021;
Moe Htet Htet Tun is the adult child of Lieutenant General Moe Myint Tun;
Khaing Moe Myint is the adult child of Lieutenant General Moe Myint Tun;
Yadanar Moe Myint is the adult child of Lieutenant General Moe Myint Tun;
Daw Nilar is the spouse of SAC member Lieutenant General Ye Win Oo, whom Treasury designated on February 11, 2021;
Theit Thinzar Ye is the adult child of Lieutenant General Ye Win Oo;
Ohn Mar Myint is the spouse of SAC member Lieutenant General Aung Lin Dwe, whom Treasury designated on February 11, 2021;
Shwe Ye Phu Aung is the adult child of Lieutenant General Aung Lin Dwe;
Hlaing Bwar Aung is the adult child of Lieutenant General Aung Lin Dwe; and
Phyo Arkar Aung is the adult child of Lieutenant General Aung Lin Dwe.
As a result of today’s OFAC action, all property and interests in property of the persons named above that are in the United States, or in the possession or control of U.S. persons, are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.
Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or otherwise exempt, all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons are prohibited. The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any blocked person or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person..."
Source/publisher:
United States Department of the Treasury (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-07-02
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-04
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"A month after its 1 February 2021coup, themilitary junta’s escalation of disproportionate violence and terror tactics, backed bydeployment of notorious military units to represspeaceful demonstrations,underlines the urgent need for substantive international action to prevent massive, destabilizing violence.
The junta’s refusal to receive UN diplomaticand human rightsmissions indicates a refusal to consider a peaceful resolution to the crisis and confrontation sparked by the coup.
In order to avert worse violence and create the space for dialogue and negotiations, the movement in Burmaand their allies urge that:oInternational Financial Institutions (IFIs) immediately freeze existing loans, recall prior loans and reassess the post-coup situation; oForeign states and bodies enact targeted sanctions on themilitary (Tatmadaw),Tatmadaw-affiliated companiesand partners, including a global arms embargo;andoThe UN Security Council immediately send a delegation to prevent further violenceandensure the situation is peacefully resolved.
Thecoup violatedmultiple provisions of the Tatmadaw-designed 2008 Constitution.
The junta’s public statements and information warfare reflect a calculated plan to neutralize domestic democratic forces and pacifythe international community.While portraying themselves as a gentler version of previous juntas, the Min Aung Hlaing regime has already attacked thousands ofunarmed protestors.On 28 February the Tatmadaw killed at least 18, injured dozens more, and arrested at least 479, in a significant escalation of abuses. This brought the total to at least 30 killed, hundreds injured, and 1,132 politicians, activists, journalists, and othersarrested, with most denied access to legal counsel.
The coup also involved a systematic purge of members of the executive and key agencies including the Central Bank of Myanmar. The coup and crackdown havedisrupted the economy, heighteningconcerns that political and economic destabilization will have regional and global impacts, intensifying reputational and operational risks, and resulting in withdrawals and suspensions of investment.
The Tatmadaw has sought to weaken popular opposition by implementing or amending seven laws that violate human rights norms, eliminate privacy and threaten lengthy imprisonment for anybody perceived as an enemy of the junta.
Millionsof civilians continue to protestnationwide—in almost every township in Burma—despite military intimidationand brutal violence.The Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) has been joined byworkers and senior officials from the civil service, police officers, and the private sector..."
Source/publisher:
Altsean Burma, Burma Human Rights Network, Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, Initiatives for International Dialogue, International Federation for Human Rights, Progressive Voice, US Campaign for Burma, and Women Peace Network
Date of publication:
2021-03-01
Date of entry/update:
2021-07-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup protesters, The 2020 General Elections in Burma/Myanmar, National Unity Government (NUG), Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), Sanctions - general, Business and the Military, Sanctions
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"The military coup in Myanmar in February has reversed or put at risk a decade of gradual economic progress. In the last decade, the Myanmar economy benefited from significant economic and political reforms, achieving above 7 per cent annual growth, reduced poverty and a significant increase in international investment.
These gains are being unwound by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and, more so, by the coup, with the World Bank forecasting a 10 per cent contraction in GDP in 2021 and the UNDP warning of a possible doubling of the poverty rate.
While there has been attention in the international media on the potential economic impact and effectiveness of international trade sanctions, the biggest economic impacts so far have been driven by internal factors. The anti-coup civil disobedience movement (CDM) drew in millions of public and private sector workers who refused to work until democracy is restored. In doing so they effectively shut down most sectors of the domestic economy.
Transport and internet services have been disrupted. The participation of port workers, truck drivers and officers from various government agencies in the CDM has had a crippling effect on international trade. The military government has imposed periodic shutdowns and limits on internet connections to try to stifle political opposition, which has led to operational difficulties for businesses, as well as grave concerns about human rights.
When banks closed at the height of the CDM, most households and businesses experienced cash shortages. This problem remains even after banks were forced to reopen by the military government. Retail and service-based businesses either shut or drastically reduced their hours of operation because of the CDM, but even businesses that have now reopened find it difficult to access cash to pay wages and suppliers. There are serious risks to the stability of the banking and finance sector. Chief among these is a widely shared loss of trust in the integrity and management of the banking system under military rule. Consumers have rushed to withdraw deposits to purchase US dollars and gold, leading to a rapid depreciation of the Kyat.
With many factories closed and business activities down, employment opportunities and incomes have reduced. In some major industrial zones which have been sites of public protests and violent military repression, hundreds of thousands of workers fled to their homes in rural areas out of fear for their own safety and a lack of jobs and income. Some of these workers have returned but only to eke out a meagre income from insecure and poorly paid daily wage work. Overall, the viability of manufacturing is threatened by the crisis, especially in industries like garment manufacturing, where some global fashion brand buyers suspended orders from Myanmar.
Boycotts have affected military owned or controlled conglomerates across a variety of industries, facilitated by a smartphone app that helps consumers avoid military-linked businesses. Consumers have also boycotted Chinese made goods because of the perception that China backs the junta. There is a lack of reliable data on the impact of the consumer boycotts, but some reports have indicated that sales of Myanmar beer — a dominant military owned beer brand — have declined by somewhere between 80 and 90 per cent since the coup.
For all of its impact, there is now an open question as to whether the CDM can be sustained in the face of pressure from the military to force employees to return to work and businesses to reopen. Many of the movement’s participants are unable to access solidarity income support and are being gradually ground down by economic hardship and the coercion of the military regime.
Yet even if the military succeeds to some degree in normalising economic activity, the economic damage done will be profound and lasting. The destabilisation of politics and governance is also likely to play out in unpredictable and unforeseen ways — including the likelihood of ongoing urban violence and safety risks — and so Myanmar will be a volatile and difficult business environment. Many international businesses will reconsider their investments in the country. Development and infrastructure project funding from donor countries will also be adversely impacted, although the regime may hope that China will fill the void.
The trade sanctions announced by the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States have thus far targeted military owned enterprises. Meanwhile, the National Unity Government, a parallel government in exile comprised mainly of deposed elected parliamentarians, has asked foreign investors not to pay tax to the military regime government until democracy is restored.
If the military regime prevails and consolidates its rule, Myanmar will almost certainly revert to its historic status as a relatively isolated, underdeveloped and impoverished economy that benefits only a small military elite and their crony business associates. Inevitably, this will mean that the economy and the people will continue to suffer. In a sea of sadness and despair one of the poignant aspects of this crisis is the sense of lost hope — felt most keenly by young people — in a once promising economic future..."
Source/publisher:
"East Asia Forum" (Australia)
Date of publication:
2021-06-23
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-24
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Anti-coup protesters, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Sanctions - general
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"Burma Campaign UK today welcomed the imposition of sanctions on state owned timber and gems enterprises, and on the Myanmar War Veterans Organisation (MWVO).
Timber and gems are significant revenue earners for the military, and the MWVO is part of the military and also has significant business interests, including in transport. Burma Campaign UK has been campaigning for the EU to sanction the timber and gems industry and the MWVO.
“These new sanctions from the EU are very welcome, not only cutting revenue to the military but also letting them know that economic pressure will keep increasing,” said Anna Roberts, Executive Director of Burma Campaign UK. “The EU must now also look at creative ways to stop oil and gas revenue reaching the military. It is vital to continue to systematically identify and cut sources of revenue to the military.”
Almost 900 people have been killed and more than 200,000 people have been forced to flee their homes since the military coup on 1st February.
The EU has also announced sanctions on 8 more individuals, bringing the total to 43..."
Source/publisher:
"Burma Campaign UK" (London)
Date of publication:
2021-06-21
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sanctions - general, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Timber extraction, Burma's economic relations with the European Union, Gems, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"Burma Campaign UK today welcomed new sanctions imposed by the British government on the Burmese military and its economic interests.
The British government has sanctioned two state-owned entities which now provide revenue for the military since the coup. They are Myanmar Timber Enterprise (MTE) and Myanmar Pearl Enterprise (MPE). They have also sanctioned the State Administration Council (SAC), the military appointed body attempting to run government institutions.
“This latest round of sanctions by the British government is very welcome and another step towards cutting the economic lifeline of the military,” said Anna Roberts, Executive Director of Burma Campaign UK. “The British government is following the right approach by continuing to identify and sanction more revenue sources for the military. There is still a lot more that can and must be done, identifying every possible economic pressure point, and working with the EU and USA to help cut oil and gas revenue.”
The British government is taking welcome steps sanctioning the economic interests of the military, and lobbying for more countries to impose arms embargoes. However, there has been no significant progress in British government support for justice and accountability, with Dominic Raab still refusing to support referring Burma to the International Criminal Court, and still refusing to join the Rohingya genocide case at the International Court of Justice..."
Source/publisher:
"Burma Campaign UK" (London)
Date of publication:
2021-06-21
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sanctions - general, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Burma's economic relations with the United Kingdom, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced new sanctions against the Myanmar Timber Enterprise, Myanmar Pearl Enterprise and the State Administration Council.
Description:
"measures announced will restrict the military junta’s ability to profit from timber and pearl, key sources of revenue for the regime
UK will maintain suspension on trade promotion in Myanmar and strengthen advice to British businesses following review of Myanmar trade
In the UK’s sixth tranche of Myanmar sanctions, measures announced today will target the Myanmar regime’s economic interest with new designations against the State Administration Council (SAC), the junta’s ruling body, who continue to undermine democracy and brutally suppress Myanmar’s civilians. These sanctions send a clear message to the junta the UK will not allow financial support that props up the military regime following the coup earlier this year.
Additional measures will now be imposed on the Myanmar Timber Enterprise and Myanmar Pearl Enterprise, 2 state owned entities in Myanmar’s extractive sector. These asset freezes will be enforced with immediate effect, and target the junta’s ability to profit from pearl and timber, 2 high-value natural commodities that generate millions in revenue for the military regime.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said:
Alongside our allies, we are placing sanctions on companies linked to Myanmar’s military junta, targeting the finances of this illegitimate regime.
The military has continued its subversion of democracy and brutal killing of civilians. We will continue to hold the Junta to account and sanction those responsible, until democracy is restored.
Today the Foreign Secretary has also announced the conclusion of the UK’s Myanmar Trade Review. In a Written Ministerial Statement in Parliament, he confirmed that the UK will maintain its suspension on trade promotion in Myanmar first imposed following the coup earlier this year.
The UK will also strengthen our Overseas Business Risk guidance to reiterate the message that UK businesses must undertake enhanced supply chain due diligence and should not enter into trading relationships that benefit the Myanmar military.
The Myanmar Trade Review emphasised that UK businesses continue to have an important role to play in Myanmar in job creation and poverty alleviation, but should operate responsibly in order to avoid inadvertently supporting the military regime.
Today’s new sanctions announcement, alongside the similar announcement from the European Union on Myanmar Timber Enterprise, follows the recent G7 communiqué which called on partners and business to exercise due diligence in their trade and investment in Myanmar. Under the UK’s presidency the G7 continues to call for an end to the coup and the immediate adoption of the ASEAN 5-point consensus..."
Source/publisher:
Govt. UK (London)
Date of publication:
2021-06-22
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sanctions - general, ASEAN-Burma relations, Sanctions, Business and the Military, Burma's economic relations with the United Kingdom, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"H.E. Dr. Sasa Union Minister of the MOIC and Spokesperson of the NUG welcomes new EU sanctions against individuals connected to the military regime - H. E ဒေါက်တာဆာဆာ၊ အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာပူးပေါင်းဆောင်ရွက်ရေးပြည်ထောင်စုဝန်ကြီး၊ အမျိုးသား ညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ၏ ပြောရေးဆိုခွင့်ရှိသူမှ စစ်အာဏာရှင်များနှင့်ပတ်သက်နေသော ပုဂ္ဂိုလ်များအပေါ် ဥရောပသမဂ္ဂ၏ အရေးယူပိတ်ဆို့မှုများပြုလုပ်ခြင်းအား ကြိုဆိုလိုက်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of International Cooperation Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-06-21
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Sanctions, Business and the Military, Sanctions - general
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"H.E. Dr. Sasa, Union Minister of the Ministry of International Cooperation and
Spokesperson of the National Unity Government of Myanmar greatly welcomes the
third round of European Union targeted sanctions against individuals and militarycontrolled
entities in Myanmar. This is another big step in ending the violence and
death across the country. The press release is as follows:
“The Council today imposed sanctions on 8 individuals, 3 economic entities and the War Veterans
Organisation in relation to the military coup staged in Myanmar/Burma on 1 February 2021, and the
ensuing repression against peaceful demonstrators. The EU's restrictive measures are largely aligned
with those of major international partners.
The individuals targeted by sanctions include ministers and deputy ministers, as well as
the attorney general, who are responsible for undermining democracy and the rule of law and
for serious human rights violations in the country. The four entities are either stateowned
or controlled by the Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw), contributing directly or indirectly
to the military's revenues or activities.
By targeting the gems and timber sectors, these measures are aimed at restricting the junta’s ability
to profit from Myanmar’s natural resources, while being crafted so as to avoid undue harm to the
people of Myanmar.
Restrictive measures, which now apply to a total of 43 individuals and 6 entities, include an asset
freeze and a prohibition from making funds available to the listed individuals and entities.
Additionally, a travel ban applicable to listed persons prevents them from entering or transiting through
EU territory.
Pre-existing EU restrictive measures also remain in place. These comprise an embargo on arms and
equipment that can be used for internal repression, an export ban on dual-use goods for use by the
military and border guard police, export restrictions on equipment for monitoring
communications that could be used for internal repression, and a prohibition on military training for
and military cooperation with the Tatmadaw.
The restrictive measures come in addition to the withholding of EU financial assistance directly going
to the government and the freezing of all EU assistance that may be seen as legitimising the junta.
The EU remains a steadfast supporter of Myanmar/Burma’s people and of the country’s democratic
transition.
The European Union continues to provide humanitarian assistance, in accordance with the principles
of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence. In 2021, it allocated €20.5 million in
humanitarian aid to address the immediate needs of displaced and conflict-affected communities in
the country. It stands ready to cooperate with the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian
Assistance in this respect. The EU stresses the importance for Myanmar/Burma to ensure that all
refugees, displaced persons and people in need have rapid, safe and unhindered access to
humanitarian aid.
The relevant legal acts, including the names of the persons and entities concerned, have been
published in the Official Journal.”
H.E. Dr. Sasa stated:
"Today I would again like to thank the European Union for taking a lead and being an advocate and
voice for the people of Myanmar, and imposing even stronger targeted sanctions against military junta
linked personnel and entities. The EU is a steadfast supporter of our democratic transition, and I want
to extend my most sincere thanks on behalf of the 54 million citizens of Myanmar for the continued
support and solidarity of the European Union with the people of Myanmar.
I continue to appeal to all nations around the globe to join with us, and support us, the people and
rightfully elected National Unity Government of Myanmar and help us end this cruel and unlawful
military junta ('SAC') occupation. We especially urge all nations to completely cease engagement with
the Military and all its entities, both directly and indirectly, and put yet tougher coordinated, targeted
and more widespread sanctions both diplomatically and economically. Every moment that these
tougher measures are delayed, more and more lives are lost, and thousands are displaced from their
homes in Myanmar, losing everything they own. We need your help to stop this now, once and for all,
and together build a true federal democratic union for ALL people of Myanmar.
Thank you for strongly standing with the 54 million brave people of Myanmar in this darkest time in the
history of our nation. The recognition of our voice, and your support, will ensure that we remain as
your faithful allies, friends, and economic partners for generations to come.".....
H.E. Dr. Sasa
Union Minister of the Ministry of International Cooperation
Spokesperson of the National Unity Government of Myanmar
Former Myanmar Special Envoy to the United Nations..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of International Cooperation Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-06-21
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Sanctions - general, Sanctions, Business and the Military
Language:
Format :
pdf
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42.26 KB
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Description:
"H.E. Dr. Sasa, Union Minister of the Ministry of International Cooperation and
Spokesperson of the National Unity Government of Myanmar greatly welcomes the
further UK sanctions on companies linked to Myanmar’s military regime as
announced by Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. This will be a huge blow to the
cashflow of the junta by restricting the military junta’s ability to profit from key
resources such as timber and pearl, and is another big step in ending the violence
and bloodshed across the country. The press release is as follows:
“ In the UK’s sixth tranche of Myanmar sanctions, measures announced today will target the Myanmar
regime’s economic interest with new designations against the State Administration Council (SAC), the
junta’s ruling body, who continue to undermine democracy and brutally suppress Myanmar’s civilians.
These sanctions send a clear message to the junta the UK will not allow financial support that props
up the military regime following the coup earlier this year.
Additional measures will now be imposed on the Myanmar Timber Enterprise and Myanmar Pearl
Enterprise, 2 state owned entities in Myanmar’s extractive sector. These asset freezes will be enforced
with immediate effect, and target the junta’s ability to profit from pearl and timber, 2 high-value natural
commodities that generate millions in revenue for the military regime.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said:
Alongside our allies, we are placing sanctions on companies linked to Myanmar’s military junta,
targeting the finances of this illegitimate regime.
The military has continued its subversion of democracy and brutal killing of civilians. We will continue
to hold the Junta to account and sanction those responsible, until democracy is restored.
Today the Foreign Secretary has also announced the conclusion of the UK’s Myanmar Trade Review.
In a Written Ministerial Statement in Parliament, he confirmed that the UK will maintain its suspension
on trade promotion in Myanmar first imposed following the coup earlier this year.
The UK will also strengthen our Overseas Business Risk guidance to reiterate the message that UK
businesses must undertake enhanced supply chain due diligence and should not enter into trading
relationships that benefit the Myanmar military.
The Myanmar Trade Review emphasised that UK businesses continue to have an important role to
play in Myanmar in job creation and poverty alleviation, but should operate responsibly in order to
avoid inadvertently supporting the military regime.
Today’s new sanctions announcement, alongside the similar announcement from the European Union
on Myanmar Timber Enterprise, follows the recent G7 communique which called on partners and
business to exercise due diligence in their trade and investment in Myanmar. Under the UK’s
presidency the G7 continues to call for an end to the coup and the immediate adoption of the ASEAN
5-point consensus.”
H.E. Dr. Sasa stated:
“Today I would again like to express my sincere thanks to the United Kingdom for taking a lead and
being an advocate and voice for the people of Myanmar both in the G7 summit and UN Security
Council, and imposing even stronger targeted sanctions against military junta linked entities and
commodities. The UK is a steadfast supporter of our democratic transition, and I want to extend my
most sincere thanks on behalf of the 54 million citizens of Myanmar for the continued support and
solidarity of the United Kingdom with the people of Myanmar.
I continue to appeal to all nations around the globe to join with us, and support us, the people and
rightfully elected National Unity Government of Myanmar and help us end this cruel and unlawful
military junta ('SAC') occupation. We especially urge all nations to completely cease engagement with
the Military and all its entities, both directly and indirectly, and put yet tougher coordinated, targeted
and more widespread sanctions both diplomatically and economically. Every moment that these
tougher measures are delayed, more and more lives are lost, and thousands are displaced from their
homes in Myanmar, losing everything they own. We need your help to stop this now, once and for all,
and together build a true federal democratic union for ALL people of Myanmar.
Thank you for strongly standing with the 54 million brave people of Myanmar in this darkest time in the
history of our nation. The recognition of our voice, and your support, will ensure that we remain as
your faithful allies, friends, and economic partners for generations to come.".....
H.E. Dr. Sasa
Union Minister of the Ministry of International Cooperation
Spokesperson of the National Unity Government of Myanmar
Former Myanmar Special Envoy to the United Nations..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of International Cooperation Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-06-22
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Sanctions - general, Sanctions, Business and the Military
Language:
Format :
pdf pdf
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42.26 KB 596.49 KB
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"The Council today imposed sanctions on 8 individuals, 3 economic entities and the War Veterans Organisation in relation to the military coup staged in Myanmar/Burma on 1 February 2021, and the ensuing repression against peaceful demonstrators. The EU's restrictive measures are largely aligned with those of major international partners.
The individuals targeted by sanctions include ministers and deputy ministers, as well as the attorney general, who are responsible for undermining democracy and the rule of law and for serious human rights violations in the country. The four entities are either state-owned or controlled by the Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw), contributing directly or indirectly to the military's revenues or activities.
By targeting the gems and timber sectors, these measures are aimed at restricting the junta’s ability to profit from Myanmar’s natural resources, while being crafted so as to avoid undue harm to the people of Myanmar.
Restrictive measures, which now apply to a total of 43 individuals and 6 entities, include an asset freeze and a prohibition from making funds available to the listed individuals and entities. Additionally, a travel ban applicable to listed persons prevents them from entering or transiting through EU territory.
Pre-existing EU restrictive measures also remain in place. These comprise an embargo on arms and equipment that can be used for internal repression, an export ban on dual-use goods for use by the military and border guard police, export restrictions on equipment for monitoring communications that could be used for internal repression, and a prohibition on military training for and military cooperation with the Tatmadaw.
The restrictive measures come in addition to the withholding of EU financial assistance directly going to the government and the freezing of all EU assistance that may be seen as legitimising the junta.
The EU remains a steadfast supporter of Myanmar/Burma’s people and of the country’s democratic transition.
The European Union continues to provide humanitarian assistance, in accordance with the principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence. In 2021, it allocated €20.5 million in humanitarian aid to address the immediate needs of displaced and conflict-affected communities in the country. It stands ready to cooperate with the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance in this respect. The EU stresses the importance for Myanmar/Burma to ensure that all refugees, displaced persons and people in need have rapid, safe and unhindered access to humanitarian aid..."
Source/publisher:
Council of the European Union
Date of publication:
2021-06-21
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-22
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sanctions - general, Sanctions, Burma's economic relations with the European Union, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
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Description:
"The international community must take immediate and collective action to end the Myanmar junta’s widespread and systematic killing of unarmed people, said Fortify Rights today. U.N. member states should ensure those responsible are held accountable for their crimes.
The Myanmar military and police shot and killed upwards of 90 women, men, and children today in at least 40 towns and cities throughout the country, according to reports that Fortify Rights has not independently confirmed. Today is Armed Forces Day in Myanmar.
“This ongoing, horrific massacre of unarmed, innocent people is the result of years of impunity, and it must end,” said Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Fortify Rights. “Governments can no longer sit idly by and watch this attack unfold. Inaction is complicity.”
On March 26, state-run television MRTV broadcast an ominous warning to protesters, saying, “You should learn from the tragedy of earlier ugly deaths that you can be in danger of getting shot in the head and back.” Eyewitness photographs and videos filmed today show dead bodies, including children, and soldiers firing weapons street-level, dragging lifeless victims away, and brutally beating people. One video shows a close-range killing of an unarmed boy on a motorcycle by Myanmar Army soldiers.
The junta’s words and actions indicate coordination in today’s killings and that soldiers were following orders to shoot and kill unarmed protesters, said Fortify Rights.
According to media reports and open-source information, security forces killed and injured protesters in at least Mandalay Region, Yangon Division, Kachin State, Tanintharyi Region, Sagaing Region, and other locations throughout the country today.
As of the end of the day yesterday, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) reported a death toll of 328 since the military coup d’état on February 1. Today’s bloodshed brings that tally to more than 400 women, men, and children. Security forces have also arbitrarily arrested at least 3,000 people, including children, according to AAPP.
On March 26, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Thomas Andrews called for U.N. member states to hold an “emergency summit,” including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, the U.S., and the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, which comprises elected members of the Myanmar parliament ousted in the February 1 coup d’état.
According to media reports, eight countries sent representatives to the Armed Forces Day military parade in Naypyidaw today, including Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand.
Myanmar’s Civil Disobedience Movement continues to lead a non-violent, peaceful resistance to military rule. Millions of people in the country have protested the military takeover, including throngs of peaceful protesters taking to the streets throughout the country on an almost daily basis, defying the junta’s attempts to terrorize the population.
The U.N. Security Council should impose a global arms embargo against the Myanmar military, sanctions against Myanmar military individuals, entities, and assets, and refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court. The U.N. General Assembly should also urgently hold an Emergency Special Session to demand collective action in response to the Myanmar military’s widespread and systematic attack on protesters.
On March 25, the U.S. Treasury Department issued new sanctions targeting two Myanmar military holding companies—the Myanmar Economic Holdings Public Company Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation Limited—and the U.K. Foreign Secretary imposed sanctions against MEHL.
“Strong, targeted sanctions from the U.S., U.K., and other states are important to isolate the junta and deprive it of resources, but they’re not enough,” said Matthew Smith. “ASEAN must take urgent action, and China, Russia, and others must not be allowed to prevent a more coordinated and far-reaching global response to the horrors unfolding in Myanmar.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Fortify Rights"
Date of publication:
2021-03-27
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, International Relations, Sanctions - general, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports
Language:
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Sub-title:
China and US on opposed sides in Myanmar's escalating civil war while Japan, India and ASEAN struggle to strike a middle ground
Description:
" China has declared its support for Senior General Min Aung Hlaing’s military-coup government in Myanmar. The United States and the European Union have implemented sanctions and declared their support for the people’s power movement agitating against the dictatorship.
India and Japan are keeping quiet because they don’t want to push Myanmar further back into the clutches of China. Thailand is too dependent on natural gas imports from Myanmar to dare to condemn or even criticize the coup.
The rest of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, has once again demonstrated that it is wholly incapable of resolving regional crises.
That, in a nutshell, is how the main external actors have reacted to the turmoil that Min Aung Hlaing thrust upon Myanmar when he and his henchmen seized power on February 1.
How this Great Game proxy theater plays out remains to be seen, but it is clear that it has pitted China against the US in a conflict that is escalating into a regional crisis.
Beyond the superpower rivalry, Japan, India and other regional actors are not keen to see Chinese influence grow in a desperate Myanmar.
That desperation is growing. Waves of refugees are beginning to stream to Myanmar’s borders with Thailand and across the frontier into India, representing the front edge of a new humanitarian crisis that could come to rival the country’s earlier Rohinyga exodus.
Economically and financially, the country is on the verge of collapse, driving out many of the Western investors who entered the country in hopes of a democratic transition. But there are growing signs that China sees opportunity in Myanmar’s crisis.
At a regional meeting in Chongqing on June 8, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi assured his Myanmar counterpart Wunna Maung Maung Lwin that bilateral relations have not been affected by what he referred to as “changes in Myanmar’s domestic and external situation.”
Chinese officials also pledged support for ASEAN’s diplomatic initiatives on Myanmar’s crisis, despite the fact the “five point consensus” agreed between Min Aung Hlaing and ASEAN representative at a one-day meeting in Jakarta on April 24 have been largely dead on arrival.
In essence, the “consensus agreement” put equal blame on the Myanmar military’s gunning down of hundreds of peaceful demonstrators, including children as young as five, and the protesters who at that time were armed with little more than slingshots and homemade devices to defend themselves.
From June 4-5, two Bruneian officials, Second Foreign Minister Erywan Yusof and ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi, were sent by ASEAN to Myanmar but they apparently did little more than chat with junta representatives.
A press release uploaded on the official website of the ASEAN Secretariat, which was later removed, mentioned the assumed government leadership titles of Myanmar junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing and others who were present at the meeting, giving ASEAN’s de facto official recognition of the coup-makers and their bloody coup.
That prompted Jakarta Post editor Kornelius Purba to write in a June 9 op-ed: “Asean is now becoming the laughing stock in the eyes of the international community not only because it is failing to address the plights of the Myanmar people but also because it has fallen into the trap of Gen. Min Aung Hlaing.”
It is often forgotten that ASEAN is not a Southeast Asian equivalent of the EU; rather it’s a loose gathering of mainly un-democratic regimes guided by two cardinal principles — non-interference and consensus —that make it perennially impotent to resolve regional crises.
Indonesia is the only ASEAN member that has shown some willingness to address Myanmar’s problems and how they are spilling over into the wider region.
After holding talks with EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell in Jakarta on June 2, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said that her country is continuing to communicate with ASEAN’s chair — now Brunei — and other member states to demand an immediate end to killings and the release of over 4,000 political detainees.
ASEAN’s inaction is likely to China’s liking. While Beijing may be concerned with Myanmar’s rising internal strife and intensified civil war — which now includes not only traditional ethnic armies but also a multitude of local forces in areas that have not seen fighting for decades — it has shown time and again that it can work together with Myanmar’s generals.
China has big geostrategic interests to protect in Myanmar and Beijing has always sided with the political camp that appears to have the upper hand. For now, that’s Min Aung Hlaing’s unpopular junta.
Myanmar is the only neighboring country that provides China with direct access to the Indian Ocean. That allows Chinese shipments of fuel and other key imports to bypass the disputed waters of the South China Sea and the Malacca Strait chokepoint that Beijing fears could be blocked in any conflict scenario with the US.
The US is on the other side of the political divide in post-coup Myanmar. Starting in June, the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) announced that its two media networks, the Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, will launch a new 24-hour video channel for Myanmar.
According to a June 9 USAGM press release, the channel will be available on two different direct-to-home TV satellites covering Myanmar and is being launched in response to the junta’s “shutdown of independent media and its intermittent blocking of mobile phone services since the military’s February 1 coup.”
Civil society organizations inside the country and in exile will also get support from the US. But other than keeping hope alive among the general public, it is hard to see how this will affect the staying power of a military regime that is willing to brutally mow down civilians to survive.
An estimated 861 protesters had been shot dead by the Myanmar military since the coup until June 11, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent rights group. AAPP released the names of 21 people who are known to have been tortured to death by the police and military since the coup.
Security and other analysts argue that neither civil disobedience nor armed struggle in frontier areas is likely to bring down the military. Only a crack within the military would do that, but there are few signs of any such significant dissent within the officer corps.
Still, it is in Washington’s strategic interest to strengthen the forces that are opposed to Myanmar’s military to avoid the country once again becoming a dependent client of China.
According to internal Myanmar army documents reviewed by Asia Times, it was top brass concern about the nation’s dependence on China and the need to counterbalance that with improved relations with the West that led to their introduction of a more open society in 2011-2012.
Relations with the West improved until the Myanmar army drove hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingyas over the border to Bangladesh in 2017 and pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi refused to condemn the atrocities.
While the US and EU have openly condemned the democratic reversal, Japan’s and even more so India’s responses to the upheaval have been less overtly critical. Japan has not joined the West in imposing new sanctions or even come out to strongly condemn the killings and torture of opponents to Min Aung Hlaing’s regime.
For the same reason, India now faces a huge dilemma and is particularly averse to China making deeper post-coup inroads into Myanmar. New Delhi doesn’t want to antagonize the Myanmar military, with which it has recently improved ties including through a submarine sale, at the same time it is the only country that so far has received a significant number of refugees.
According to local sources, there are now 21,000 refugees in the northeastern state of Mizoram and an unknown number in adjacent areas in Manipur.
Both states border Myanmar and the Mizos are closely related to the Chins across the border so local authorities have ignored appeals from the central government in New Delhi not to accept refugees from Myanmar. Chin state is one of the parts of Myanmar where armed conflict rages between the military and local resistance forces.
India and the US — both democracies with common strategic interests vis-à-vis China — should be natural allies in this otherwise unfathomable imbroglio. But that may not happen as China could seek to revive its old support for ethnic insurgents from India’s northeast who have sanctuaries across the border in Myanmar from where they launch occasional raids into India.
In the past, China provided mainly Naga, Manipuri and Assamese resistance groups with assistance. After India signed a trade pact with Taiwan in October last year, Beijing said it could retaliate by revitalizing such support.
Four months after Myanmar’s coup, the resulting crisis is no longer a mere internal affair. But what happens next in Myanmar is a question not even its most famous soothsayers and astrologers — nor Western political and military analysts — dare to predict.
The only certain thing is that Min Aung Hlaing did not anticipate the scale, scope and longevity of resistance to his democracy-suspending coup, a miscalculation that has exposed his country to new great power machinations and interventions that will further fuel the instability he stoked and can’t extinguish..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2021-06-12
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Sanctions - general, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Human Rights and international relations, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
Language:
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Description:
"Within a few days of the Feb. 1 coup, attention focused on pressuring the military coup-makers by blocking the military’s access to hard currency. There was a flurry of news about the US freezing Myanmar’s account at the Federal Reserve and Singapore’s banking authority stating that its checks had found “no significant funds from Myanmar companies and individuals” in Singapore banks. These statements presaged or coincided with US sanctions targeting members of the State Administration Council (SAC), their children, military enterprises and other parties that the US authorities deem responsible for the coup and the ongoing violence.
The list of sanctioned individuals and entities continues to expand. Interestingly, the SAC ruling body is now listed separately on the US Treasury’s sanctions list in addition to the individual listing of council members. Unless the US Treasury clarifies that this designation of SAC does not apply to the government ministries and departments that are now acting at its behest, the implication is that the entire government is now sanctioned.
As I previously wrote in this publication, US sanctions prohibit not only US individuals and companies from dealing with the sanctioned parties, but also prohibit financial transactions that involve US dollars or transit the US financial system, even if the party dealing with the sanctioned party is not a US individual or entity.
The effectiveness of sanctions therefore depends greatly on compliance by international banks. Despite assured statements from Singapore banking authorities, it is almost certain that banks in Singapore, a global financial center and the source of most foreign investment in Myanmar, hold sizable deposits of sanctioned Myanmar citizens and entities. There are also reports that Singaporean banks hold sums of Myanmar’s foreign reserves. Myanmar banks, including military-owned Myawaddy Bank, also have correspondent relationships with Chinese, Korean, Malaysian, Singaporean, Taiwanese and Thai banks.
In general, banks are the weak links in the sanctions regime and are some of the worst offenders, as evidenced by recent penalties of over US$15 billion imposed on the likes of BNP Paribas and HSBC. Despite implementing compliance programs and putting “know your customer” internal systems in place to screen transactions, banks may not always have the motivation to do rigorous checks.
By now, the measures taken by those wanting to evade sanction controls are well documented. These include falsifying and manipulating financial payment documents and using intermediaries to hide the parties to the transaction. For Myanmar sanctions compliance, banks should also update their compliance programs with “negative news” research of individuals and companies known for dealings with sanctioned parties. Banks should also be vigilant about not aiding the informal remittance networks (hundi) that are widely used to transfer money in and out of Myanmar.
Sanctioned individuals and entities are considered threats to the national security and foreign policy of the US, and consequently the US Treasury will aggressively pursue violations. Through its enforcement arm OFAC, the US Treasury has several resources to aid its work. Financial institutions may voluntarily disclose violations, possibly reducing potential penalties. OFAC also relies on information sharing with government agencies including the State Department, FBI, CIA and NSA. Whistleblowing from employees is another asset, and under federal law rewards of up to $1.6 million may be claimed if the bank has a presence in the US.
Banks are now on notice that any failure to conduct thorough checks and properly vet sanctioned parties may be tantamount to “trading with the enemy” of the US. After the record penalties totaling $15 billion on BNP Paribas ($8.9 billion), HSBC ($1.9 billion) and UBAF ($4.1 billion), OFAC is once again aggressively taking action against financial institutions. In January 2021 alone, OFAC imposed billion-dollar penalties on Saudi Arabia-based and France-based financial institutions for conducting business in US dollars on behalf of sanctioned parties. Similar actions are expected to increase under the Biden administration.
International financial institutions are now under the spotlight and face a clear choice: either fully commit to sanctions compliance or risk crippling penalties and losing access to the US financial system..."
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)
Date of publication:
2021-06-12
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-12
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sanctions - general, USA-Burma relations, Banking, Business and the Military, Sanctions, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Experts say the EU's new sanctions against Myanmar raise questions over a contradiction in policy, which calls on ASEAN to take the lead in mediation. There is also concern over how effective the sanctions will be.
Description:
"Questions have been raised over the EU's exact objectives regarding Myanmar, after its foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, last Thursday said that a third round of sanctions will soon be imposed on the country's military and economic interests.
Following its February 1 coup, which overthrew the recently reelected civilian government headed by national icon Aung San Suu Kyi, the military is believed to have killed at least 845 people, the majority of whom were civilians who participated in nationwide pro-democracy protests.
The coup has also escalated the country's seven-decade-old insurgencies, with several ethnic militia groups now cooperating to oppose the junta. The National Unity Government, an underground government composed of opponents of the military junta, including ousted parliamentarians, also recently announced the creation of their own militia, the People's Defense Force.
As tensions continue to escalate, the majority of foreign powers, including the EU, have publicly backed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc in taking the lead to mediate a resolution to the conflict.
Situation beyond ASEAN's reach
However, the situation now appears to be beyond the reach of ASEAN, for whom the Myanmar crisis represents its biggest and most difficult test in decades.
The junta's continued violence and repression go against the five-point consensus it agreed to with ASEAN in April. And Myanmar's pro-democracy movement now says it doesn't trust ASEAN's interlocutors, especially as there appears to be little chance that the bloc can mediate a deal that allows the now-banned National League for Democracy (NLD) to return to power, or even to politics.
Moreover, accusations have been made that the EU is sanctioning the same Myanmar officials that ASEAN may soon confer legitimacy upon, if the bloc's eventual resolution allows the junta to remain in power until new elections are held, which are likely to be rigged by the military.
The EU first agreed to impose sanctions on several officials in Myanmar's military junta and its aligned companies in mid-February. But it took several weeks for the measures to be formally adopted.
A second round of sanctions in April targeted a dozen more junta officials, as well as key military-owned conglomerates, Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited and Myanmar Economic Corporation.....A hazy relationship with oil companies: However, one notable exception so far from the sanctions list is the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), a state-owned enterprise with close connections to the military's business assets.
"It is imperative that the EU sanctions Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise and junta-controlled banks to cut the flow of revenue financing the military's international crimes," said Yadanar Maung, spokesperson for Justice for Myanmar, a research activist group.
"The most significant single source of revenue for the military is from oil and gas, channeled through offshore accounts belonging to state-owned banks," Maung added. "This is wealth that belongs to the people of Myanmar, who have made clear their absolute rejection of the coup."
In late May, petroleum giants Total SA and Chevron — French and American-owned, respectively — announced that they had terminated cash payments to the junta, the dividends they derive from transporting gas from Myanmar's offshore Yadana field to the mainland and to neighboring Thailand.
Both international firms are majority owners of Moattama Gas Transportation Company, the pipeline company that transports the gas. MOGE owns a 15% share.
Maung also called on the EU to push for a global arms embargo on Myanmar. Brussels has frozen the sale and transfer of weapons to the country, while the United Nations earlier introduced a non-binding resolution for an arms embargo. However, the ASEAN bloc has opposed the UN resolution.
It remains to be seen whether MOGE, as well as other lucrative military-run entities, will be part of the new sanctions promised by Borrell last week during his visit to Jakarta.....'A comprehensive and balanced approach': Nabila Massrali, EU Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said she "would not speculate" on what the new sanctions will entail as they are still being discussed in Brussels.
Massrali described the bloc's measures as "a comprehensive and balanced approach," adding that: "These measures have been carefully crafted to avoid a further negative impact on the Myanmar population. They send a strong signal to the military junta that the EU holds them accountable for their actions and they impose clear costs on their behavior."
Given that EU sanctions were only imposed in March and April, she said it is "too soon to assess the impact of these measures."
In early May, a study made by 10 foreign chambers of commerce in Myanmar found that 13% of surveyed companies had ceased business activity in the country since the coup, and a third reported at least a 75% reduction in their activity.
According to some commentators, however, sanctions may have dented the military's coffers but are almost certain not to force it to its knees. After all, the military, known locally as the Tatmadaw, ruled Myanmar as a hermetic state from 1962 until 2011, when it tentatively accepted a democratic shift and allowed the NLD to form a civilian government after a resounding victory at the 2015 general election.
'No evidence' that sanctions are effective
"There is no evidence so far that the sanctions have caused any change within the military junta, which continues to use violence and imprisonment to silence democratic opposition," said Htwe Htwe Thein, an associate professor of international business at Curtin University in Perth.
In part, this is because almost none of the military's financial assets is held in EU bank accounts, and the majority of large foreign companies doing businesses in Myanmar aren't European. "Of course, there are travel and visa bans for key officials — so officials and their families cannot plan to go to Paris on holiday," Thein noted.
On the one hand, she added, EU sanctions have "symbolic effects" in supporting international condemnation of the junta's actions, and may also pressure other governments to follow suit. "Therefore, they are more effective than they seem," she said.
Yet many other nations haven't followed the EU's example. Singapore, the largest investor in Myanmar, has opposed sanctions, as have other major investors Japan and China.
Who is in charge of mediation?
Confusing matters further, the EU is ramping up its sanctions against Myanmar's junta, but at the same time, is trusting the ASEAN bloc to mediate a solution that may end up conferring legitimacy on the same people that Brussels has targeted.
The EU "should be very careful and discerning in allowing ASEAN to lead the diplomatic efforts and set agendas," said Thien.
When announcing further sanctions on a visit to Jakarta last week, EU foreign policy chief Borrell reiterated that efforts "to find a political solution for the Myanmar situation belongs to ASEAN." He added that the regional bloc's interlocutors are "doing the best possible job."
Not everyone agrees. Even Thailand, whose current ruling party and prime minister came to power through a military coup in 2014, said this week it was concerned that Myanmar's junta is not sticking to the five-point "consensus" it agreed to with ASEAN in April, which committed the military to ending violence and opening political talks with other groups.
Following the visit last week by two ASEAN envoys to Naypyitaw, the National Unity Government said, "we no longer have any faith in ASEAN's efforts, and we have no expectation."
Last weekend, pro-democracy protesters in Mandalay, Myanmar's second-largest city, set fire to ASEAN flags to show their anger at the bloc's ongoing talks with the junta.
Brussels may have backed itself into a corner by imposing sanctions, yet intimating that it will support an ASEAN-led resolution to the crisis.
'A compromised solution'
"If ASEAN finds a 'solution' it would be a very compromised solution — such as scarcely believable promises of future 'free and fair elections' and an end to military violence against pro-democracy supporters," said Thein.
"Chances are that the EU wouldn't be able to accept such false 'solutions,' given the EU's democratic values and policies. What to do then?," she added.
Indeed, if Brussels follows an ASEAN outcome that essentially accepts the junta as the legitimate government of Myanmar, then the EU will presumably have to end its sanctions. If not, and sanctions remain, Brussels will be seen as disagreeing with ASEAN's resolution.
The EU spokesperson did not directly address this issue when asked by DW.
"Violence and repression will not grant legitimacy to the military junta. Only a credible political dialogue, aimed at restoring the democratic institutions and which takes into account the will of Myanmar's people, as expressed in last November's elections, can ensure sustainable peace and a credible democracy," Massrali said, referring to the NLD's victory at a general election last year, which the military argued was rigged.
"The EU will monitor closely the developments and re-assess its policy, including in relation to sanctions, based on the situation on the ground."
Source/publisher:
"DW News" (Germany)
Date of publication:
2021-06-09
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sanctions - general, European Union-Burma relations - European Parliament, Sanctions, Business and the Military, ASEAN-Burma relations, Burma's economic relations with the European Union, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, National Unity Government (NUG)
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"May 25, 2021)–The Government of the United Kingdom should take immediate action to deprive the Myanmar military junta of natural gas revenues, weapons, and political legitimacy, and ensure accountability for its past and present mass atrocity crimes in the country, Fortify Rights said today in a submission to the U.K. Parliament.
Fortify Rights today submitted evidence to the U.K. Foreign Affairs Committee, which is holding an inquiry into the U.K. government’s response to the crisis in Myanmar following the February 1 coup d’état. The committee will also hear oral evidence from U.N. Special Rapporteur Thomas Andrews, Myanmar National Unity Government (NUG) Minister Dr. Sasa, human rights defender Thinzar Shunlei Yi, and others. The committee will then draft a report and make recommendations to the U.K. government.
The Fortify Rights submission recommends the U.K. “work with relevant governments and foreign operators of Myanmar gas fields to ensure the junta is unable to access natural gas revenues from its accounts and ensure revenues are effectively held in trust until democracy is restored.” Fortify Rights urged the U.K. to sanction the Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise and other specified entities to ensure the country’s natural gas wealth is not controlled by the illegal military junta.
As the penholder at the U.N. Security Council, the U.K. should table a resolution that includes a global arms embargo, targeted sanctions, and a referral of the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC), forcing a veto from China or Russia, if necessary, Fortify Rights said. The U.K. should simultaneously lead efforts beyond the Security Council to build an international coalition to achieve these same aims.
Fortify Rights also called on the U.K. government to reverse recently announced funding cuts to Rohingya refugee response efforts in Bangladesh and to conduct an urgent public review of U.K. aid spending in Myanmar to ensure it does not reach the military junta. The U.K. government should also work with countries receiving Myanmar refugees, including Thailand, Bangladesh, India, and Malaysia, to ensure refugee protection.
In November 2019, The Gambia opened a case against Myanmar at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, alleging Myanmar violated its obligations under the Genocide Convention with regard to mass-scale, army-led attacks against Rohingya men, women, and children. In light of the coup, long-persecuted minorities in Myanmar, such as the Rohingya, face increased existential risks,Fortify Rights said.
“The U.K. should formally join the case at the ICJ brought by The Gambia against Myanmar for violations of the Genocide Convention,” Fortify Rights said in its submission.
Since the coup, the junta-controlled military and police reportedly killed more than 800 people and arbitrarily detained more than 4,000 nationwide. In a document seen by Fortify Rights, provided by the Myanmar junta to members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ahead of an emergency summit to discuss Myanmar last month, the junta claimed it detained 9,848 persons, released 4,511, and charged 5,070 between February 1 and April 15. The junta has also launched airstrikes against villages in ethnic army-controlled border areas, reportedly killing, injuring, and displacing tens of thousands of civilians. The junta also cut internet access and mobile data nationally, preventing the population from communicating with each other and the outside world.
On April 16, elected legislators in Myanmar and others formed the National Unity Government (NUG) to fulfill the will of the people as expressed through the November 2020 elections. In its submission to the Foreign Affairs Committee, Fortify Rights recommended the U.K. government recognize and engage the NUG as the legitimate Government of Myanmar.
In its April 29 announcement launching the U.K. inquiry, the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Tom Tugendhat, referenced “deeply distressing reports” of the junta’s human rights violations against peaceful protesters in Myanmar, noting that “[e]fforts to curb the violence and brutality through the imposition of sanctions have, unfortunately, fallen short.”
“This urgent inquiry will determine how the Government can improve its response to the crisis, as well as how the U.K. can use its influence in organizations such as the U.N. to help deliver a peaceful resolution for the people of Myanmar,” he said..."
Source/publisher:
"Fortify Rights"
Date of publication:
2021-05-25
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-10
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Genocide, International Court of Justice (ICJ) - General, Rohingya (cultural, political etc.), Human Rights and international relations, Business and the Military, Sanctions, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"Last week, in a public letter, Human Rights Watch called on the leaders of the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, and Japan to take concrete and decisive action facing the unprecedented challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and global warming, as well as by worrying developments in China, Israel/Palestine, Belarus, Russia, and Myanmar, ahead of the G7 Summit on June 11-13. G7 members should use this Summit to collectively reaffirm and demonstrate their commitment to international human rights law and deliver on its promise to build back better.
June 2, 2021
Dear G7 leaders,
As the world undergoes profound changes, the forthcoming G7 Summit meeting to be held on 11-13 June should deliver on its promise to build back better. The respect and advancement of human rights are intrinsic to building back better, yet human rights are facing unprecedented challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and global warming, as well as by worrying developments in China, Israel/Palestine, Belarus, Russia, and Myanmar.
The G7 Summit should be an opportunity for the assembled Heads of State and Government to collectively reaffirm and demonstrate their commitment to international human rights law through concrete and decisive actions.
In that regard, I am writing to draw your attention to recommendations made by Human Rights Watch that we urge the G7 to adopt at the Carbis Bay summit.
Covid-19
The Covid-19 pandemic has precipitated human rights crises across the globe, with widespread and devastating social and economic consequences. While the scale and severity of the pandemic’s public health threat justified some restrictions on rights, many governments ignored public health guidance and even used the pandemic as a pretext to abusively strengthen their grip on power. Meanwhile, rich governments have made opaque deals and prebooked the vast majority of vaccine supplies, exacerbating inequalities and largely opposing measures that could ensure poorer countries’ quicker and more affordable access to vaccines. Human Rights Watch calls on G7 members to urgently change course and ensure a rights-respecting exit from this public health crisis by:
Supporting India’s and South Africa’s proposal at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to temporarily waive certain intellectual property rights under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). While we applaud the US government's decision to support a waiver and Japan's announcement that it would no longer obstruct text-based negotiations at the WTO’s TRIPS Council, we deeply regret that negotiations on the proposal remain stalled because other G7 members are still undecided or in opposition. Human Rights Watch is among the hundreds of civil society organizations around the world urging support for the TRIPS waiver to expand access to lifesaving vaccines and other health products. The measure has received increasing support ever since its initial proposal in October, including by 175 Nobel laureates and former Heads of State and Government, and the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO); and
Boosting manufacturing capacity in the developing world. While we welcome G7 leaders' attention to purchasing and distributing vaccine doses through the COVAX facility, which is worryingly underfunded, we urge the countries attending the G7 summit to go further by committing financial and logistical resources to develop a plan of action to scale up manufacturing and to use their regulatory powers and funding clout to enable technology transfers and sharing of data, know-how, and other intellectual property through open and non-exclusive licensing.
Human Rights Watch also calls on G7 members to support all governments’ ability to provide urgent economic relief to people whose livelihoods have been devastated by the pandemic, including by:
Exercising their outsize voting power on the boards of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and regional development banks to enable robust investment in public health systems and bottom-up economic relief. Members should use all avenues available to them to promote transparent and accountable use of pandemic-related funding. At the same time, they should oppose conditionalities that harm rights, such as imposing fiscal targets that force governments to cut spending on health, education, housing, and social protection;
Increasing and directing development assistance to scale up social protection systems. Such assistance could help co-finance social protection floors during the time of crisis, and provide financial and technical support to put in place more permanent structures; and
Supporting debt relief where it interferes with governments' ability to provide economic relief essential to people's rights or to procure Covid-19 vaccines or other health products.
Climate Change
Since 2016, the G7 governments have all committed to phase out “inefficient” fossil fuel subsidies by 2025, a commitment reiterated last week by the G7 Climate and Environment Ministers. To fulfill this commitment, Human Rights Watch encourages the G7 to:
Deliver time-bound and transparent action plans this year detailing how G7 members will meet stated commitment to phase out fossil fuel subsidies by 2025; and
Immediately commit to no new international public finance for coal, oil, or natural gas projects, and to deliver time-bound and transparent action plans this year detailing how they will eliminate existing support for fossil fuels from international public finance institutions by 2025, including indirect support such as through related infrastructure, advisory services, technical assistance, or financial intermediaries.
China
The Chinese government is deepening repression in mainland China as well as Hong Kong, and is seeking to muzzle critics abroad. It is arbitrarily detaining human rights defenders and lawyers, tightening control over civil society, media, and the internet, and deploying invasive mass surveillance technology. The government imposes particularly heavy-handed control in the ethnic minority regions of Xinjiang and is responsible for serious, widespread and systemic violations against Uyghurs and other Muslims that amount to crimes against humanity. In this regard, Human Rights Watch urges the G7 to:
Call on the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to proceed with an investigation into grave abuses in Xinjiang, -even absent access to China, noting Beijing’s intransigence with regard to access and cooperation;
Pursue G7-wide coordinated targeted sanctions against officials responsible for abuses. An obvious target should be Chen Quanguo, the Chinese Communist Party Secretary of Xinjiang, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (only the US has sanctioned these two; other recent sanctions have focused on lower-level officials);
Insist that those responsible for crimes against humanity in Xinjiang should be held accountable and face justice; and
Support and commit to work for the establishment of a standing mandate at the UN Human Rights Council to monitor and report on human rights violations across China.
Israel-Palestine
Israel maintains entrenched discriminatory systems that methodically privilege Jewish Israelis and discriminate against Palestinians. To maintain Jewish Israeli control over demographics, political power, and land, Israeli authorities have dispossessed, confined, forcibly separated, and subjugated Palestinians by virtue of their identity to varying degrees of intensity. In certain areas, the deprivations perpetrated by the Israeli government against the Palestinian population are so severe that they amount to the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution. Considering these crimes, Human Rights Watch calls on the G7 to:
Urge the Israeli government to ensure without delay to Palestinians in the occupied territory protection of the civil rights that they are entitled to, using as a guide the protections it ensures for its own citizens; and to assess Israel’s conduct on this basis;
Issue statements expressing concern about the Israeli government’s practice of apartheid and persecution;
Vet agreements, cooperation schemes, and all forms of trade and dealing with Israel to screen for those directly contributing to the commission of the crimes of apartheid and persecution against Palestinians, mitigate the human rights impacts, and, where not possible, end the activities and funding found to facilitate these crimes;
Support the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in its ongoing investigation into crimes committed in Palestine, including into individuals credibly implicated in the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution; and
Urge Israel to reverse its policy of denying access to the Gaza Strip to human rights organizations seeking to investigate violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.
Russia
Repression in Russia is the most severe than it has ever been in the post-Soviet era and targets political opposition, critical media, peaceful protesters, independent groups, foreign organizations, and internet traffic. Russia is also responsible for assassinations and assassination attempts of Russians abroad. Human Rights Watch, therefore, urges the G7 to:
Jointly and publicly condemn the unprecedented crackdown on human rights defenders and civil society and restrictions on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, association and expression;
Jointly call on Russia to repeal the “foreign agents” legislation and the law on “undesirable” organizations, to amend the vague and overly broad extremism legislation, to end politically motivated prosecutions, and to stop all forms of persecution and harassment of human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, and other civil society activists; and
Urge Russia to release Alexey Navalny, drop abusive charges against him, drop the extremism court case against his organization, ensure effective investigation of the credible allegations that Federal Security Service officers poisoned him with Novichok nerve agent in 2020, and stop harassing, intimidating, detaining, and persecuting his supporters and other peaceful civic activists.
Belarus
In Belarus, the political opposition, democracy activists, lawyers, human rights groups, and independent media face severe abuses, including arbitrary arrests, bogus charges and trials, enforced disappearances, torture, and dismissals by the authorities. A shocking illustration of this repression occurred on May 23, when the government forced a civilian plane traveling between two EU member state capitals to land in Minsk and arbitrarily arrested prominent activist and journalist Raman Pratasevich and his girlfriend, Sofya Sapega. In the face of such acts, Human Rights Watch calls on the G7 to:
Continue to jointly and consistently condemn the widespread, brutal crackdown on rights and peaceful protesters in Belarus, the politically motivated arrests of key opposition figures, and efforts to intimidate and silence dissenters, workers, students, journalists, human rights activists, and others peacefully exercising their rights to free expression and assembly;
Condemn in the strongest terms the actions that led to the arbitrary arrest and detention of Pratasevich and Sapega, and convey serious concerns that they are at grave risk of torture and face long prisons terms on spurious charges;
Press the Belarusian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all prisoners held arbitrarily such as for political reasons, including all those arrested in relation to the protests against the August 2020 presidential elections, journalists, media workers, bloggers, and human rights defenders;
Use all means possible, including further targeted sanctions against individuals and entities involved in the crackdown and continued impunity, to put pressure on the Belarusian authorities to put an end to gross and widespread human rights violations committed in the country since August 2020;
Condemn the continued impunity for grave violations of international human rights law, including torture, ill-treatment, sexual violence, enforced disappearances, and killings by security forces, as well as the disproportionate and lethal use of weapons; and
Insist that those responsible for serious violations of international law must face justice, and pledge G7 support for the UN Fact-finding mission established by the Human Rights Council, and for the Accountability Platform supported by a large group of states from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to gather, analyse, and preserve evidence of human rights violations in Belarus with a view to support justice for grave crimes.
Myanmar
In Myanmar, on top of the hundreds of killings and thousands of arrests since the 1 February coup, of increasing concern are attacks on the media, including the arrests of journalists who are citizens of G7 countries. The military has raided the offices of newspapers and online media and banned media outlets and satellite television. More than 70 journalists have been arrested since the coup, of whom at least 48 remain in detention. Meanwhile, the escalation of armed conflict in ethnic minority areas has forced almost 60,000 people to flee their homes. The country’s humanitarian situation is worsening across the board, with food and economic security plummeting. The United Nations Development Programme has warned that half of Myanmar’s population, about 25 million people, could be living below the national poverty line by early 2022. Despite the desperate situation, the people of Myanmar continue to protest and actively oppose the military. Civil society, protest leaders, and representatives of the democratically elected government are all continuing to call on the international community to impose economic sanctions on the companies that benefit the Myanmar military. They are calling on the G7 to act. Human Rights Watch consequently appeals to the G7 to:
Adopt a tougher position on imposing economic sanctions and other economic measures to target the Myanmar military and its leaders. Sanctions imposed so far — on military leaders and companies, including MEC and MEHL and the gemstone and timber enterprises — are an important step forward. But governments now need to better target the massive foreign currency revenues that are bankrolling the military and giving it the capacity to purchase weapons and other items on the international market — transactions that are almost entirely conducted in currencies of G7 members. Every month, hundreds of millions of US dollars are paid to entities that are either already sanctioned by most G7 members or controlled by sanctioned entities. This flow of funds can and should be stopped. The G7 should announce new measures to target those revenues, focusing more on financial institutions that process payments that benefit sanctioned entities;
Adopt a common position, or state unilaterally, that they support efforts to table a UN Security Council draft imposing a global arms embargo on Myanmar; and
Signal that they will pursue all possible avenues for international justice, which include support for investigative efforts by UN bodies, referral of the situation to the International Criminal Court, and, where applicable, investigation under domestic law under universal jurisdiction laws. It is essential that G7 governments demonstrate to the junta that its abuses — and unwillingness to engage meaningfully with the UN and outside actors about restoring democratic rule — is coming at a severe cost to its economic interests and standing on the international stage, and that engaging in atrocities with impunity will result in international efforts to hold its leadership criminally liable.
Hoping for concrete and decisive action by the G7 at the Corbis Bay summit, I remain at your disposal should you require any further information.
Yours sincerely,
Kenneth Roth
Executive Director
Human Rights Watch..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-06-08
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-09
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights Watch Reports on Burma/Myanmar, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Sanctions - general, Human Rights and international relations, Business and the Military, Sanctions
Language:
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Sub-title:
Crisis Group Asia Briefing N°166
Description:
"The Myanmar military took the world by surprise on 1 February, staging a coup d’état that abruptly curtailed the country’s democratic transition and has sparked mass protests that could lead to deadly violence. The generals say their move is con-stitutional, alleging fraud in November 2020 elections that saw the National League for Democracy (NLD) defeat the military-backed party. These claims lack substantiation. The detention of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as her anointed president, Win Myint, has generated immense popular anger. Foreign governments are now grappling with how to respond. Some (largely Western) governments threaten sanctions to punish democratic backsliding; the U.S. has already imposed some re-
strictions. Asian powers that have expressed concern focus on the risk of instability. Governments that impose sanctions should adopt measures that target coup leaders and insulate Myanmar’s people and broader economy from their effects. Regional governments should consider such steps to protect regional stability. All external actors should cooperate to prevent violence. Complicating efforts by foreign governments to react is a dynamic situation on the ground. The new regime has tried to tamp down protests by issuing a curfew order
that prohibits public gatherings of five or more people, rolling back some reforms that protected civil liberties and using heavy-handed crowd control devices such as water cannons and rubber bullets (compounded, some reports suggest, by live fire in some instances). Still, demonstrations show no sign of abating. Indeed, the junta’s
sharp response, which resulted in the reported killing of at least one person, appears to have drawn even more people onto the streets, including in the capital city of Naypyitaw, suggesting significant support among government workers. The security forces’ approach could take an even darker turn fast. Soldiers and armoured vehicles
have begun to reinforce the police lines and, should the generals become impatient with the status quo, could easily become the sharp end of a bloody crackdown, as has happened in the past.
Responses around the world have varied. Many governments denounced the military takeover. The UN Security Council issued a press statement expressing “deep concern” about the “arbitrary detention” of members of the government, calling for the release of those detained and emphasising the need to “uphold democratic
institutions and processes, refrain from violence, and fully respect human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law”. For Western governments invested in Myanmar’s democratic transition, initial statements were only an opening salvo. U.S. President Joe Biden has already approved sanctions on coup leaders, their business
interests and close kin, and redirected more than $40 million of aid from the Myanmar government to civil society. New Zealand rejected “the legitimacy of the militaryled government” and suspended high-level military and political contacts. Asian governments and commentators have been more muted; many expressed concern for regional stability, but prominent voices have cautioned against a severe international reaction unlikely, in their eyes, to sway the generals.Western leaders will have to thread a needle. Targeted sanctions and the like can serve as a signal to the generals in Myanmar and others similarly inclined elsewhere.
Sanctions might impose costs that will not reverse the coup but could offer modest leverage or deterrence in the future. Some measures, such as cutting off weapons shipments, can also help ensure those governments previously supplying arms are not complicit should the military again use force against Myanmar’s people. Yet sanctions should be formulated with a clear grasp of their shortfalls. Prior to Myanmar’s transition that began in 2010, the U.S., EU and others imposed ferocious sanctions that, alongside the junta’s economic mismanagement, harmed the population.
The sanctions alienated Myanmar’s neighbours, which saw them as disproportionate, creating an unhelpful West-versus-East dynamic that inhibited cooperation.
Sanctions did not play a decisive role in Myanmar’s 2011 democratic opening. Steering a policy course today requires humility about and historical perspective on external actors’ limited sway over internal developments. Still, outside powers can take useful steps. Governments wanting to signal the importance of a return to democracy should – as the U.S. has done – adopt tailored
measures that seek to punish those responsible for the 1 February actions but avoid penalising the country’s population who are the coup’s victims and, in many cases, are risking their lives protesting it. Such punitive measures could include sanctions on military-owned enterprises, provided they do not hurt the broader economy and
the people. Myanmar’s neighbours should join these efforts – whether or not, given their own systems, they are concerned about democracy in Myanmar – to help push the generals onto to a more stable path. All governments should suspend delivery and sales of weapons and other defence and dual-use equipment during this volatile period and maintain this policy until genuine civilian government is restored..."
Source/publisher:
International Crisis Group (Belgium)
Date of publication:
2021-02-16
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations, Anti-coup protesters, Sanctions - general, Sanctions, Business and the Military, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
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Sub-title:
Washington has choices, from imposing no-fly zones to tightening sanctions.
Description:
"While the U.S. Congress is considering modifications of the Biden administration’s modest sanctions on Myanmar’s military junta, some voices among the protesters have called on the United States and the international community to consider armed intervention. Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations for the pre-coup Union Government, Kyaw Moe Tun, who continues to oppose the junta from abroad, asked the U.N. Security Council to enforce a no-fly zone over the country and impose a global arms embargo.
The United States has had a unilateral arms embargo on trade with Myanmar since 1988, and Congress has placed restrictions on U.S. relations with the country’s military since 2011. In addition, there are a range of options on the table for harder interventions, although some are more plausible than others.
This article does not advocate or endorse any U.S. military action in Myanmar in response to the Feb. 1 coup; the goal is to provide a brief overview of the options and examine the merits of each option. Given the impending end to two decades of U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan, military options in Myanmar are unlikely to be popular with either the Biden administration or Congress. Yet, as opposition calls for aid grow, it’s worth examining what the scope of U.S. military action could be.
The most dramatic—and unlikely—option would be a full-scale invasion of Myanmar, either unilaterally (like the U.S. invasion of Panama in December 1989) or multilaterally (like the 1990 war against Iraq). Such an invasion would probably focus on the nation’s central axis along the Irrawaddy River, including the key cities of Mandalay, Naypyidaw, and Yangon. Because of the presence of anti-junta ethnic armed organizations in the seven ethnic minority states of Myanmar (Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Mon, Rakhine, and Shan) that have long fought the central government, U.S. forces would probably see limited actions in those parts of Myanmar.
Although Myanmar’s military has reportedly purchased some advanced military equipment and supplies from China, Israel, Russia, and Ukraine, advancing U.S. troops would be unlikely to face sustained resistance. Myanmar’s military has sustained serious casualties in the last two years in fighting against ethnic militias—such as the Arakan Army, the Kachin Independence Army, and the Karen National Liberation Army—which do not possess the resources of the U.S. military. Not surprisingly, morale among Myanmar’s security forces is reportedly low, with many soldiers wishing to resign or defect to the anti-junta opposition.
While an actual invasion might be relatively simple, an occupation would be much more difficult. The recent unity in Myanmar in opposition to the Feb. 1 coup does not extend to any consensus on what form of government should be established after the removal of the military junta. For example, the proposed National Unity Government announced by the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, a small group of largely National League for Democracy politicians who were supposed to become members of the legislature before the coup overturned the election results, has received lukewarm support from the major ethnic armed groups and the civil society organizations behind the civil disobedience movement. Following an invasion, the Biden administration could find itself responsible for a politically fractious nation—and face a wary reaction from some of the ethnic armed organizations.
A U.S. invasion of Myanmar also would likely be condemned by China, Russia, Thailand, and other nations. China would perceive the presence of U.S. forces in a neighboring country as a serious security threat and increase its military forces along the border. Thailand would certainly be concerned, given that its current government is the result of a similar military coup in 2014. Without the support of other nations, the United States could find itself isolated and subject to widespread international criticism.
Another military option that has been suggested is for the United States to establish a no-fly zone over Myanmar to prevent the Myanmar military from using its fixed-wing aircraft and attack helicopters against the ethnic militias and the local groups known as civil defense forces that are springing up in various parts of the country. A no-fly zone would rebalance the fighting to the advantage of the civil and ethnic armed groups, possibly leading to the defeat of the Myanmar military.
One of the main challenges of this proposal would be establishing and maintaining the logistical support to sustain the no-fly zone. An aircraft carrier off the coast of Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal could be sufficient to provide the air coverage, but some form of land-based supply system would also be necessary, especially if the no-fly zone became a sustained effort.
It would be difficult to find a nearby nation willing to allow the United States to set up such a logistical support center. India is not a likely candidate; nor is Thailand. Australia and Japan are probably too far away to be practical alternatives.
Also, while the elimination of air support for Myanmar’s troops would alter the situation on the battlefield, Myanmar’s military would still be able to deploy its artillery and other heavy land equipment. As such, it is unclear how significant a change the establishment of a no-fly zone would be in the balance of power in Myanmar’s ongoing and intensifying civil war.
The creation of a blockade off of Myanmar’s coast is another military option. Such a blockade could include shutting down Myanmar’s natural gas and oil production, which is a major source of international revenue for the military junta.
From a military perspective, the maintenance of a blockade would involve less resources than a no-fly zone. Myanmar does not have a blue-water navy of any size or capability to challenge a U.S. blockade. Yet most of Myanmar’s international trade is conducted by land, not by sea. Myanmar’s major trading partners are China and Thailand, and most of the goods are exchanged by land, thereby evading such a blockade. Both China and Thailand might be willing to assist Myanmar’s military junta by permitting blocked goods to enter Myanmar via their territory.
The U.S. military could also conduct a limited number of airstrikes against key Myanmar military installations to undermine its ability to use its air force in the fighting against the ethnic armed groups and civil defense forces. It also could target Myanmar’s weapons and munitions factories. For many years, Myanmar’s military has been producing most of its light weapons and equipment in military-run factories. Airstrikes against Myanmar’s military air bases and/or its weapons factories could seriously compromise the junta’s ability to continue the civil war.
An advantage of limited airstrikes over an invasion or the maintenance of a no-fly zone is it would involve a relatively discrete amount of time and resources, but it could seriously weaken the military. Also, U.S. casualties would be minimal, as the number of airstrikes necessary to seriously damage Myanmar’s air force and weapons production is fairly small given Myanmar’s minimal air defense capabilities.
There would undoubtably be some international criticism of the airstrikes, most likely from China, Russia, and Thailand. It is unlikely that China would attempt to intercept the U.S. airstrikes, given the risk of direct confrontation. The airstrikes might also provide moral support for Myanmar’s opposition movement, as it would be a clear demonstration of U.S. opposition to the military junta.
Yet there are downsides. First, the U.S. military would probably have to return periodically to attack the air bases and weapons factories again, after repairs had been made. Second, the damage caused by the airstrikes might not be sufficient to alter the military balance of power in favor of the opposition armed groups. Limited U.S. airstrikes in other nations, such as Libya and Syria, have not always proved to be as effective as hoped.
A less discussed option is providing military assistance and training to the ethnic armed organizations and civil defense force in support of their war against the military junta. This could involve the provision of arms and military equipment to the major ethnic militias and the newly established civil ones, as well as combat training for their officers.
Such a program would be a significant change in U.S. policy, which has denied such assistance and training to Myanmar’s military for more than 30 years. It would also clearly place the United States behind the opposition movement, which may not win the war against the Myanmar military.
China, in contrast, has been a major provider of military assistance and training for both the Myanmar military and some of the major ethnic armed groups for decades. The provision of U.S. support to the ethnic militias would improve U.S. relations with those groups, but it may antagonize China in the process, unless there is an agreement between the two nations.
Another important consideration is the long-term implications of U.S. military support for anti-government opposition forces. Recent U.S. experience with such endeavors has been rather mixed. In some cases, what were at one time allies became enemies, such as in Afghanistan. Given the history of disagreements between Myanmar’s ethnic armed organizations, supplying them with weapons and military training may precipitate an outbreak of these groups fighting each other after the defeat of the Myanmar military.
A final option to consider is the further international isolation of Myanmar’s military, especially its commissioned officers. This could involve an international arms embargo, the freezing of military financial assets overseas, a travel embargo on the Myanmar military’s commissioned officers, and/or the instigation of criminal charges against the heads of the junta. Bertil Lintner, a renowned expert on Myanmar, recently wrote an article advocating the extraterritorial prosecution of the junta’s leaders as an alternative to the types of sanctions being implemented by the Biden administration and other governments.
Previous efforts in the U.N. Security Council to impose an arms embargo on Myanmar have been blocked by China and Russia. The U.N. General Assembly is supposed to consider a non-binding resolution calling for a global arms embargo on Myanmar; a proposal backed by the Biden administration.
But in addition, the Biden administration could apply indirect pressure on nations to join the United States in isolating the Myanmar military. For example, it could make the continued provision of U.S. military assistance and training contingent on severing any ties to the Myanmar military. Alternatively, the U.S. Treasury could ban any American financial institution from providing financial services that involve the transfer of funds to accounts owned or controlled by the Myanmar military or its officers, as well as restrict financial services to foreign financial institutions that provide financial services to the Myanmar military. In its relative simplicity, and in following on from similar measures against Iran, this may be the most appealing option to the Biden administration and Congress—even if it doesn’t match the hopes of the opposition..."
Source/publisher:
"Foreign Policy" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-05-24
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-07
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, USA-Burma relations, Sanctions - general, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Anti-coup protesters, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
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Description:
"Pressure is growing on foreign governments as elected parliamentarians and campaign groups push for sanctions on Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) and state banks, which are now under junta control.
On Tuesday, 40 French parliamentarians called on their government to advocate for EU sanctions against MOGE, describing it as a “significant financial windfall for the junta”.
The parliamentarians also demanded official recognition for the National Unity Government and Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw.
In April, six US senators wrote to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken urging for sanctions on MOGE.
“History shows that when the junta was previously in place in the 1990s, gas revenues from Total and Chevron/Unocal helped them to withstand international sanctions as their reserves dwindled. This time, we believe that the Tatmadaw must be entirely prevented from accessing a steady stream of international resources,” the senators wrote.
In the same month, the Washington Post published an editorial advocating for action on oil and gas revenue flows to the junta.
“The Biden administration can break this impasse by enacting sanctions on MOGE. These could be tailored to allow Total and Chevron to continue gas production — provided they do not transfer profits. Alternatively, the Treasury department could sanction the bank accounts in Thailand and Singapore that MOGE uses to collect royalties,” the paper proposed.
Civil society pressure
Campaign groups have stepped up efforts in recent weeks.
On May 25, Daniel Eriksson, CEO of global anti-corruption organisation Transparency International sent a letter to European Commission Vice-President Josep Borrell Fontelles calling for EU action on oil and gas revenue flowing to Myanmar’s military junta.
“The junta will likely use [oil and gas] revenues to sustain its control of the government apparatus, finance atrocities against the local population, purchase arms and seize portions for private gain,” Daniel wrote.
The letter called for EU sanctions on MOGE, Myanma Foreign Trade Bank and Myanmar Investment and Commercial Bank, the intermediary banks that collect oil and gas revenue.
Campaigners intensified calls for sanctions in response to an announcement by TotalEnergies and Chevron to suspend dividend payments from the Yadana pipeline project, costing the junta tens of millions of dollars.
On Friday, 408 civil society organisations issued a statement demanding that TotalEnergies and Chevron “support targeted sanctions rather than lobbying for exemptions as you have in the past.”
TotalEnergies Chairperson Patrick Pouyanné told its shareholder meeting last week that the company would comply with any further sanctions.
Human Rights Watch responded to TotalEnergies and Chevron announcement, stating that a suspension of pipeline profits is not enough without targeted sanctions.
“Chevron and Total’s recent decision is a step in the right direction, but it affects less than 5 percent of the natural gas revenue the Myanmar junta receives,” said John Sifton of Human Rights Watch. “To have real impact, governments and companies need to go further to stop the junta from receiving funds or accessing bank accounts that receive payments.”
Human Rights Watch has also drawn attention to the role played by Thai oil company PTT and called ongovernments that have sanctioned military conglomerates to push Japan, Singapore and Thailand to adopt similar measures.
Global Witness called for targeted sanctions and for oil and gas funds to be kept in a protected account, echoing an earlier demand from the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw.
“In order to capture the remainder of these revenues the international community must place targeted economic sanctions on the military’s economic interests in the oil and gas industry. This will ensure that all payments related to the sale of Myanmar’s natural gas are held for the benefit of a future, legitimate government rather than funding the military regime,” said Keel Dietz of Global Witness.
Myanmar was forecast to earn 2,305 billion kyat (about US$1.4 billion) from oil and gas in the year to March 2022, according to a Myanmar budget document drawn up before the coup. The sector is expected to contribute just over 10% of total government revenues this year..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-06-05
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-06
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sanctions - general, Sanctions, Business and the Military, Oil and gas, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Description:
"The Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M) is launching a live record of actions taken since the attempted coup in Myanmar by States, businesses, and other entities – including sanctions, operation suspensions and divestments – that contribute to cutting the junta’s finances. SAC-M is calling for a global ‘Three Cuts’ strategy against the junta in Myanmar: cut the weapons, cut the cash, cut the impunity.
The live record can be found here: https://specialadvisorycouncil.org/cut-the-cash/
The junta in Myanmar – once the Myanmar military – is infamous for having a long-established and complex web of commercial interests composed of military-linked companies and subsidiaries, State-owned enterprises, and private crony companies. The wealth generated through this corrupt system that spans Myanmar’s economy creates immense personal wealth for the junta’s leadership and enables its forces to carry out massive human rights violations across the country.
“The junta relies heavily on revenues from domestic and foreign business deals to support its operations and insulate its leaders from the extreme economic hardship they are forcing on the rest of the country” says Chris Sidoti of SAC-M. “Cutting off the junta’s multi-million-dollar income is essential to support the people’s Civil Disobedience Movement, halt the junta’s massive human rights violations and hold the perpetrators accountable. This live record is intended to highlight who has taken action and who has not.”
Since launching a coup on 1 February 2021, the junta’s forces have murdered at least 840 people – including dozens of children – abducted and detained thousands, and committed brazen acts of torture, sexual and gender-based violence and other forms of extreme brutality. The junta has launched airstrikes and fired heavy artillery into towns and villages in rural areas. Tens, or even hundreds, of thousands of people are newly displaced from their homes both in the cities and towns and along Myanmar’s western and eastern borders.
Responding to the many calls from Myanmar civil society organizations, States, businesses and other entities have begun taking action against the junta such as with targeted sanctions, operation suspensions and divestments. SAC-M acknowledges and welcomes the efforts and actions taken so far and will continue to track future actions as well as their implementation.
“States and business enterprises have international legal obligations to respect human rights and must do the utmost to avoid that their activities and businesses cause adverse human rights impacts,” says Marzuki Darusman of SAC-M. “In view of these obligations, as part of the UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, we called in 2019 for complete economic disengagement from the Myanmar military, military leaders and their families, and corporations and businesses owned or controlled by the military. Those calls remain critical today.”
SAC-M maintains that economic sanctions will work in Myanmar insofar as they are targeted at cutting the junta’s finances. Besides economic disengagement from the Myanmar military, the Fact-Finding Mission also called for the promotion of economic ties and engagement with non-military companies in Myanmar as a means of building the non-military sector of the economy.
The inescapable fact is that at the moment it is impossible to do business in Myanmar. Under the current circumstances, businesses should be supporting the anti-coup resistance by suspending all operations in Myanmar apart from essential humanitarian operations.
However, in time the removal of the junta from the economy will create the legal and economic environment where corruption can be addressed seriously for the first time. It will open up greatly expanded opportunities for non-military businesses, local and foreign. Private business will be needed for the long-delayed economic development of Myanmar.
With the live record, SAC-M intends to provide an overview of actions taken so far by States, businesses and other financial entities since 1 February 2021 towards cutting all direct or indirect financial support to the junta. The record is intended as a living document that SAC-M will continue to maintain and update as necessary. SAC-M encourages business enterprises, including those that may not be mentioned in this record, to inform SAC-M of any relevant action undertaken with regard to their economic activities in Myanmar.
The record lists business enterprises that have proactively taken actions against the junta as a result of the coup and the ensuing human rights violations committed against civilians, who have resisted the unlawful attempted takeover of power. It does not include companies that had to suspend their business activities because of actions of the Civil Disobedience Movement.
“There are already signs that these collective cuts to the junta’s finances are starting to bite,” says Yanghee Lee of SAC-M. “It is essential that we continue to build the pressure. A priority is coordinated international sanctions on the junta’s extractive industry so-called State-owned enterprises – including Myanmar Timber Enterprise, Myanmar Gems Enterprise, and of course, Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise. I first raised my concerns over these entities as UN Special Rapporteur in 2019. They are central to the junta’s finances, and it will use them to exploit every last inch of Myanmar’s natural wealth while oppressing the people and driving the country to ruin.”
Cutting the junta’s finances is part of a global ‘Three Cuts’ strategy that SAC-M is calling for: cut the junta’s arms supply through comprehensive arms embargos, cut the cash flow through targeted economic sanctions, and cut the junta’s impunity through referral to the International Criminal Court and other accountability mechanisms. The progress of all ‘Three Cuts’ will be tracked on SAC-M’s website..."
Source/publisher:
Special Advisory Council for Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-06-04
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-05
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Sanctions - general, Business and the Military, Sanctions, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Description:
"The European Union will impose a new round of sanctions on Myanmar's military junta and its economic interests in the coming days, EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell told Reuters on Thursday.
In an interview in Jakarta after meetings with Southeast Asian diplomats, Borrell said the fresh sanctions from the EU would be the third batch introduced since the military ousted Myanmar's democratically-elected government on Feb. 1.
"There is a third row of sanctions in preparation that will be approved (in) the coming days (targeting) personnel of the military junta and also the entity that represents the economic interests of the military," he said.
Since the coup, EU sanctions have frozen assets or applied travel bans on 21 military and civilian members of Myanmar's junta. European citizens and companies are also forbidden from making funds available to those sanctioned.
The bloc's last round of sanctions in April targeted military-owned conglomerates Myanma Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC), barring EU investors and banks from doing business with them.
The EU sanctions, along with those of other Western powers, have yet to persuade the junta to cede to their demands to restore democracy, release political detainees or begin dialogue with members of the ousted government, many of whom are imprisoned.
The coup plunged Myanmar into crisis after 10 years of tentative steps toward democracy. Mass demonstrations have met with a deadly crackdown by security forces and the economy has collapsed. A refugee crisis is growing and some of Myanmar's many ethnic armed groups are taking up arms against the junta.
While in Jakarta, Borrell met with envoys from countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Thursday. The headquarters of ASEAN, which includes Myanmar as one of its 10 members, is based in the Indonesian capital.
Borrell said he told the Myanmar representative to ASEAN: to "end repression and go back to normal political behaviour through free and fair elections".
He said he wanted ASEAN to continue to lead the global diplomatic effort to restore stability and democracy to Myanmar, even though the group has been criticised by human rights groups, opponents of the junta and experts for being too slow and too meek in responding to the coup.
"They are doing the best possible job," said Borrell.
As first reported by Reuters, two senior ASEAN officials are heading to Myanmar this week to meet with the junta, the first visit by the bloc's representatives since the coup was launched.
ASEAN has also said it opposed a non-binding United Nations resolution for an arms embargo on Myanmar. The EU already has a freeze on the sale and transfer of weapons to the country.
A further 14 high-ranking Myanmar military officials were sanctioned by the EU for serious human rights abuses against the Rohingya minority after some 700,000 of the Muslim ethnic group were violently expelled from Buddhist-majority Myanmar by security forces in 2017..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-06-03
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-04
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sanctions - general, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Muslims in Burma, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Sub-title:
Punitive sanctions policies should be recalibrated
Description:
"International calls for the restoration of democracy in strategically located Myanmar obscure an important divide between that country's neighbors and the West.
The sanctions-centered approach of the United States and the European Union has sought to punitively isolate Myanmar, while neighboring countries favor a policy of constructive engagement with the military junta.
After a gradual, decadelong democratization process, Myanmar's military, or Tatmadaw, seized power on Feb. 1 and began cracking down on those peacefully protesting the coup. The continuing unrest has carried important international implications, including the flight of political dissidents and ordinary refugees to neighboring countries.
The cross-border impacts explain why neighbors view engagement as essential, including urging Myanmar's military rulers to address the domestic unrest through political reconciliation.
Myanmar's land frontiers are porous, with cross-border ethnic linkages with communities in India and Thailand making the transboundary movement of people common. Trade, investment and counterinsurgency cooperation also link Myanmar with the countries that surround it.
Can anyone imagine the U.S. seeking to isolate and squeeze its southern neighbor Mexico? U.S. President Joe Biden, in fact, is relying on the Mexican government to address the present border crisis precipitated by the tide of mainly Central American refugees trying to enter the U.S. since he took office.
Likewise, it is inconceivable that Myanmar's immediate neighbors, saddled with a refugee influx since the coup, would embrace the punitive approach adopted by the U.S. and the EU. Yet, the Biden administration initiated a sanctions campaign against Myanmar without consultations with neighboring countries.
There is truth in the common diplomatic view that the farther a country is from Myanmar, the more likely it will favor a punitive approach, while those nearby will keep the channels of communication open through calibrated engagement. The history of sanctions shows that punitive actions have rarely worked without some form of engagement.
In this light, the presence of junta leader Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing at the Apr. 24 in-person Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Jakarta -- and the carefully nuanced summit statement on Myanmar that emphasized the "ASEAN family" -- represented a rebuff to the U.S.-led approach to isolate Myanmar.
According to the five-point consensus that emerged from the summit, ASEAN will mediate to help resolve the crisis. This is, however, easier said than done. ASEAN, for example, has failed to resolve the crisis in Thailand, where the leader of the 2014 coup remains ensconced in power -- in civilian garb -- by cracking down on pro-democracy protesters, including using a feared lese-majeste law to imprison those who insult the royal family.
More broadly, the retreat of the Myanmar spring exemplifies how democracy is under siege around the world. The wave of rollback of democracies highlights the growing threat from a fusion of autocratic politics and crony, state-guided capitalism.
Today, all the countries of continental Southeast Asia -- Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam -- are under authoritarian rule, like their giant northern neighbor, China. In fact, only two of ASEAN's 10 members are true democracies with judicial independence and free media.
Still, Myanmar's generals are discovering the hard way that rolling back democratic freedoms once people take them as their right carries enduring challenges. Although Myanmar had been under military rule for 50 of its 73 years since independence, the continuing protests show that many of its citizens are unwilling to accept a return to military rule.
Only the military can return Myanmar to the path of democratization. After all, it was the military that voluntarily ushered in the country's democratic transition that began in 2011. It is thus critical for outside states, including in the West, to maintain lines of communication with Myanmar's top generals.
One of the world's most ethnically diverse countries, Myanmar has long been an easy sanctions target because it has remained a weak, divided state torn by ethnic insurgencies. Its failure to construct an inclusive national identity has allowed old ethnic rivalries to fester, stifling the resource-rich country's potential.
As past experience has shown, however, an uncompromisingly harsh approach toward Myanmar has had the perverse effect of weakening America's hand while strengthening China's.
China values Myanmar as a strategic gateway to the Indian Ocean. Like India, Myanmar has long complained about the flow of Chinese arms to guerrilla groups, accusing Beijing of backing several of them as levers against it. The nationalistic military is wary of reliance on China. But international isolation could leave it with no choice.
As Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen told Nikkei's Future of Asia 2021 conference earlier this month: "If I don't rely on China, who will I rely on? If I don't ask China, who am I to ask?" Cambodia is a cautionary tale of how international isolation pushes an economically vulnerable nation into China's arms. Myanmar could be next, unless the U.S. recalibrates its sanctions policy.
The international divide over how to deal with Myanmar also represents a division between Western and Asian values. In contrast to the West's interventionist impulse and democratic evangelism, the Asian way of standing up for one's principles and beliefs does not extend to imposing them on others through coercive activism.
Today, with little prospect that the West could engineer a color revolution in Myanmar, friendly conversations with that country's generals to persuade them to halt their crackdown and release political prisoners are likely to make more headway toward influencing future events than the current heavy-handed approach..."
Source/publisher:
"Nikkei Asian Review" (Japan)
Date of publication:
2021-06-01
Date of entry/update:
2021-06-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, ASEAN-Burma relations, Sanctions - general, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Human Rights and international relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Description:
"Statement to TOTAL'S Press Release, stopping MGTC's dividend payments: In my capacity as Minister of Planning, Finance, and Investment of Myanmar's civilian-led democratic National Unity Government, I welcome the recent decision made by TOTAL and others to suspend the distribution of dividend payments to all shareholders of the Moattama Gas Transportation Company Ltd (MGTC). These distributions are a part of the oil and gas revenues are now being used to finance the military's campaign of terror and gross human rights abuses against the people of Myanmar, under
the illegitimate State Administration Council (SAC).
We welcome this action as a step in the right direction, with both TOTAL and Chevron having now acknowledged that it is wrong to continue supporting the military. The SAC steals from the people of
Myanmar to fund its crimes against the same people of Myanmar.
TOTAL was right to condemn the violence and human rights abuses perpetrated by the Myanmar military. I also note TOTAL'S affirmation that the company will comply with applicable sanctions
issued by EU and US authorities. We welcome both TOTAL and Chevron have now publicly acknowledged that facilitating such
payments is at odds with their commitment to responsible business practices that respect the law. protect human rights, and benefit the communities in which they work. However suspending cash distributions to pipeline shareholders will deny the military only a
small portion of the substantial revenues that the military receives from TOTAL'S ongoing operations in Myanmar.
Based on recent financial data, the dividend payment amounts to roughly USD 40 million per year. This is a very small portion of overall revenues flowing to MOGE and state institutions under
SAC's control from the Yadana project operated by TOTAL. In 2020/2021 FY, for instance, an estimated 400 million USD will flow to state institutions that are now under the direct control of the
SAC. It must also be noted that other offshore oil/gas projects provide significant revenue streams to the military, the combined payments from these projects to the MOGE amount to over USD 1 billion
per annum. Despite the action announced by TOTAL. SAC will still receive the vast majority of revenue that accrues to state institutions from the Yadana project, and from the other projects that export of
Myanmar's natural resources. This constitutes single most significant flow of funds to SAC. allowing it to use such funds procure weapons, jet fuel, and other strategic necessities as part of its campaign of terror and gross human rights abuses. It does not stop payments that are now accruing to the military through SAC from Myanmar's natural resources, including royalties, production shanng payments and tax obligations. It bears repeating - while the National Unity Government and I do welcome this decision, it must be understood that this step does little to stop most payments that are now accruing to the military
from Myanmar’s natural wealth, including royalties, production sharing payments, and tax obligations. Yet. with actions such as these, the tides are now turning. Cracks are emerging. Some of the
largest companies in the world have now acknowledged that it is unacceptable to provide material support that directly benefits the Myanmar military through its present control of the state apparatus.
We are not calling for production to stop, but for payments to be withheld from institutions that are presently under the military's control. This is, in fact, the only way for the oil and gas contractors to
honor their obligations to the people of Myanmar. By acknowledging this reality — that providing financial resources to military-controlled
institutions conflicts with their commitment to responsible business practices — TOTAL and Chevron have set a precedent for cutting the junta’s access to crucial funds. All who continue to fund the
military can and must follow this approach, out of basic respect for human dignity. With new US government sanctions announced on May 17, 2021, oil and gas companies should be on notice that of there are legal and reputational risks arising from their failure to stop payments to MOGE and other state institutions under the control of the SAC. There is still a long way to go to protect the people of Myanmar from a military regime which has illegally attempted to seize power from the legitimate government of Myanmar. Denying them funds will ensure that they are unable to maintain their illegal and illegitimate regime. This work is just beginning, but we are confident we will succeed..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Planning, Finance and Investment - NUG
Date of publication:
2021-05-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Human Rights and international relations, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Sanctions - general, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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"ကြေညာချက် (၄/၂၀၂၁)
မေလ ၃၀ ရက် ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ်။
===============
TOTAL ကုမ္ပဏီက မုတ္တမဓာတ်ငွေ့သယ်ယူပို့ဆောင်ရေးကုမ္ပဏီလီမိတက် ( MGTC) ၏ အမြတ်ငွေခွဲဝေမှုအားဆိုင်းငံ့လိုက်ကြောင်း ကြေညာခြင်းနှင့် စပ်လျဉ်း၍ သဘောထားမှတ်ချက်ထုတ်ပြန်ခြင်း။
--------------------------
၁။ ဒီမိုကရေစီနည်းလမ်းတကျ ရွေးကောက်တင်မြှောက်ဖွဲ့စည်းထားသော ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတမြန်မာနိုင်ငံ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေး အစိုးရအဖွဲ့၊ စီမံကိန်း၊ ဘဏ္ဍာရေး နှင့် ရင်းနှီးမြုပ်နှံမှုဝန်ကြီး အနေဖြင့် TOTAL နှင့် မိတ်ဖက်ကုမ္ပဏီများ စုပေါင်းဖွဲ့စည်းထားသည့် မုတ္တမဓာတ်ငွေ့သယ်ယူပို့ဆောင်ရေး ကုမ္ပဏီလီမိတက် (MGTC) က အစုရှယ်ယာရှင်များအား အမြတ်ငွေခွဲဝေမှု ဆိုင်းငံ့လိုက် ခြင်းအပေါ် ကြိုဆိုပါသည်။
၂။ အဆိုပါအမြတ်ငွေများသည် မြန်မာပြည်သူလူထုအပေါ် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီက ကျုးလွန်နေသည့် အကြမ်းဖက်သတ်ဖြတ် မှုများနှင့် ဆိုးရွားလှသည့် လူ့အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်မှုများအတွက် အဓိက အထောက်အပံ့ပြုနေသော ရေနံနှင့်သဘာ၀ဓါတ်ငွေ့မှ ရရှိသည့် စုစုပေါင်းဝင်ငွေ၏ အစိတ်အပိုင်းတစ်ရပ်ဖြစ်သည်။
၃။ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီအား ဆက်လက်ထောက်ပံ့ပေးနေခြင်းသည် မှားယွင်းသည့် လုပ်ရပ်ဖြစ်သည်ဟု TOTAL နှင့် CHEVRON ကုမ္ပဏီတို့က တရားဝင်ထုတ်ဖော်ပြောဆိုလျက် ယခုကဲ့သို့ မှန်ကန်သော ရွေးချယ်ဆုံးဖြတ်မှုအတွက် ကြိုဆိုပါသည်။ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီသည် ၎င်းတို့ ခိုးဝှက်ယူထားသည့် ပြည်သူ့ဘဏ္ဍာငွေများအား ပြန်လည်သုံးစွဲ၍ ပြည်သူလူထုအပေါ် ရာဇဝတ်မှုကျူးလွန်နေသည့် အဖွဲ့အစည်းသာဖြစ်သည်။
၄။ TOTAL ကုမ္ပဏီအနေဖြင့် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ လူ့အခွင့်အရေးချိုးဖောက်မှုများနှင့် အကြမ်းဖက်မှုများအား ပြစ်တင် ရှုံ့ချရန် တာဝန်ရှိသည့်အပြင် EU နှင့် US တို့၏ ပိတ်ဆို့အရေးယူမှုများနှင့်အညီ လိုက်နာဆောင်ရွက်သွားမည်ဟု အတိအလင်း ထုတ်ဖော် ပြောဆိုထားမှုအားလည်း မှတ်တမ်းတင်စောင့်ကြည့် နေပါသည်။
၅။ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီထံသို့ ဘဏ္ဍာငွေများ ပေးဆောင်နေခြင်းသည် တာဝန်ယူမှု၊ တာဝန်ခံမှုရှိသော စီးပွားရေးလုပ်ငန်းမျာ ၏ စံတန်ဖိုးများဖြစ်သည့် ဥပဒေကိုလေးစားလိုက်နာမှု၊ လူ့အခွင့်အရေးကို ကာကွယ်စောင့်ရှောက်မှုနှင့် လုပ်ငန်းတည်ရာဒေသရှိ လူမှုအသိုက်အဝန်း၊ ဒေသခံပြည်သူများအပေါ် အကျိုးကျေးဇူး ဖြစ်ထွန်းစေမှု စသည့်အချက်များနှင့် ဖီလာဆန့်ကျင်လျက်ရှိသည် ဟု TOTAL နှင့် CHEVRON ကုမ္ပဏီတို့က တရားဝင် ထုတ်ဖော်ပြောဆိုသည့်အတွက်လည်း အသိအမှတ်ပြုပါသည်။
၆။ သို့သော် ယခုဆိုင်းငံ့လိုက်သည့် အမြတ်ငွေခွဲဝေမှုသည် TOTAL ကုမ္ပဏီထံမှ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီရရှိနေသည့်စုစု ပေါင်းဝင်ငွေနှင့် နှိုင်းယှဉ်လျှင် မပြောပလောက်သည့် ပမာဏသာဖြစ်ကြောင်း စိစစ်တွေ့ရှိရသည်။
၇။ ယခုအခါ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ ထိန်းချုပ်မှုအောက် လုံးလုံးလျားလျား ရောက်ရှိနေသည့် မြန်မာ့ ရေနံနှင့်သဘာဝဓာတ် ငွေ့လုပ်ငန်း (MOGE) ထံသို့ TOTAL ကုမ္ပဏီ၏ ရတနာ သဘာဝဓါတ်ငွေ့တူးဖော် ထုတ်လုပ်ရောင်းချရေးစီမံကိန်းမှ နှစ်စဉ် ပေးဆောင်နေရသည့် ဘဏ္ဍာငွေပမာဏမှာ တရားဝင် ကိန်းဂဏန်း အချက်အလက်များအရ ၂၀၂၀/၂၀၂၁ ဘဏ္ဍာရေးနှစ် အတွက် ခန့်မှန်းခြေ အမေရိကန် ဒေါ်လာ သန်း ၄၀၀ ခန့်ရှိပြီး၊ ဆိုင်းငံ့လိုက်သည့် အမြတ်ငွေခွဲဝေမှုသည် အမေရိကန်ဒေါ်လာသန်း ၄၀ ခန့်သာ ရှိပါသည်။
၈။ အထူးသတိပြုရန်မှာ အခြား ရေနံနှင့် သဘာဝဓာတ်ငွေ့ ဆိုင်ရာ နိုင်ငံတကာ ကုမ္ပဏီကြီးများကလည်း လွန်စွာများပြား လှသည့် ဝင်ငွေပမာဏကို အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီအတွက် ဖန်တီးရှာဖွေပေးနေသည့် အချက်ဖြစ်သည်။ TOTAL ကုမ္ပဏီအပါအဝင် အဆိုပါ ကုမ္ပဏီကြီးများထံမှ စစ်ကောင်စီလက်အောက်ခံ မြန်မာ့ရေနံနှင့် သဘာ၀ဓါတ်ငွေ့လုပ်ငန်း (MOGE) က နှစ်စဉ်ရရှိနေသည့် ဝင်ငွေစုစုပေါင်းမှာ အမေရိကန်ဒေါ်လာ သန်းပေါင်း ၁၀၀၀ ကျော် ရှိပါသည်။
၉။ ထို့ကြောင့် ယခုကဲ့သို့ TOTAL ကုမ္ပဏီမှ အမြတ်ငွေခွဲဝေမှုအား ဆိုင်းငံ့ထားလိုက်သည်ဟု ကြေညာသည့်တိုင် အကြမ်းဖက် စစ်ကောင်စီသည် ပုံမှန်ရရှိမြဲ ဝင်ငွေအများစုအား ဆက်လက်ရရှိနေမည်ဖြစ်ပြီး ယင်းဝင်ငွေများဖြင့် ၎င်းတို့၏ အကြမ်းဖက်ယန္တရား သက်ဆိုးရှည်စေရန် အဓိကလိုအပ်သည့် စစ်လက်နက်များ၊ လေယာဉ်ဆီများ ဝယ်ယူခြင်း အပါအဝင် အခြားစစ်အသုံးစရိတ် များစွာအတွက်လည်း ဆက်လက်ဖြည့်ဆည်း သုံးစွဲနိုင်မည်သာ ဖြစ်သည်။
၁၀။ ထပ်လောင်း ပြောကြားလိုသည်မှာ ကျွန်ုပ်တို့ အမျိုးသားညီညွတ်ရေးအစိုးရ အနေဖြင့် သဘောဝဓာတ်ငွေ့သယ်ယူ ပို့ဆောင် ရေးကဏ္ဍ၏ အမြတ်ငွေခွဲဝေမှုအား ဆိုင်းငံ့လိုက်သည့် ဆုံးဖြတ်ချက်အားကြိုဆိုပါသည်။ ယင်းဆုံးဖြတ်ချက်မှ အစပြု၍ သယံဇာတ ထုတ်ယူမှုကဏ္ဍမှ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီရရှိနေသည့် အခြားများပြားလှသော ဝင်ငွေများဖြစ်သည့် ခိုင်ကြေးများ၊ ထုတ်လုပ်မှုအပေါ်ခွဲဝေခြင်းများ နှင့် အခွန်အကောက်များကိုပါ အလားတူဆိုင်းငံ့ရန် ထပ်တိုးဆောင်ရွက်သွားနိုင်မည်ဟု နားလည် ယုံကြည်ပါသည်။
၁၁။ ယခုအခါ ကမ္ဘာ့အကြီးဆုံး ကုမ္ပဏီတချို့သည် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ ထိန်းချုပ်စီမံမှု အောက်တွင်ရှိနေသော လက်အောက်ခံအဖွဲ့အစည်း၊ ယန္တရားများမှတဆင့် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီထံ တိုက်ရိုက်အကျိုးဖြစ်ထွန်းစေသည့် ဆောင်ရွက်ချက်နှင့် ထောက်ပံ့ကူညီမှုမှန်သမျှကို လက်မခံနိုင်ကြောင်းနှင့် ပေးအပ်ရန်မသင့်ကြောင်း ပြတ်ပြတ်သားသား အသိပေး ထုတ်ဖော်ပြောကြားလျက် ရှိပါသည်။
၁၂။ ကျွန်ုပ်တို့ အစဉ်တစိုက် တောင်းဆိုနေသည်မှာ ရေနံနှင့်သဘာဝဓာတ်ငွေ့ တူးဖော်ထုတ်လုပ်ရောင်းချသည့် ကုမ္ပဏီများ၏ ထုတ်လုပ်မှုအား ရပ်ဆိုင်းထားရန် မဟုတ်ဘဲ ပြည်သူ့ဘဏ္ဍာငွေများအား အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ ထံသို့ ၎င်း၏လက်အောက်ခံ အဖွဲ့အစည်းများမှတဆင့် စီးဝင်မှုမရှိစေရေး တားဆီးထိန်းသိမ်းထားရန်သာ ဖြစ်သည်။
၁၃။ TOTAL ကုမ္ပဏီနှင့် CHEVRON ကုမ္ပဏီတို့အနေဖြင့် ကျွန်ုပ်တို့တောင်းဆိုသည့်အတိုင်း အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ ထိန်းချုပ် ထားသော အဖွဲ့အစည်းများသို့ စီးဝင်လျက်ရှိသည့် ဘဏ္ဍာရေးအရင်းအမြစ်အားလုံးအား ဖြတ်တောက်ခြင်းသည် မိမိတို့၏ တာဝန်ယူမှု၊ တာဝန်ခံမှု ရှိသော စီးပွားရေး ကျင့်ဝတ်များအား လိုက်နာကျင့်သုံးခြင်းသာဖြစ်ပြီး အခြားအလားတူ နိုင်ငံတကာ ကုမ္ပဏီများ အတွက်လည်း အတုယူ လိုက်နာကျင့်သုံးရန် စံနမူနာကောင်း တစ်ခုအဖြစ် ပေါ်ထွန်းလာစေမည် ဖြစ်သည်။
၁၄။ ရေနံနှင့်သဘာဝဓာတ်ငွေ့ကုမ္ပဏီများ အနေဖြင့် မြန်မာ့ရေနံနှင့်သဘာဝဓာတ်ငွေ့လုပ်ငန်း (MOGE) အပါအဝင် အခြားအလားတူ အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီလက်အောက်ခံ အဖွဲ့အစည်းများသို့ ငွေကြေးလွှဲပြောင်းမှုများ ဆက်လက်လုပ်ဆောင်နေခြင်းသည် အမေရိကန် အစိုးရ၏ ၂၀၂၁ ခုနှစ် မေလ ၁၇ ရက်တွင် ချမှတ်ကြေညာခဲ့သည့် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီအပေါ် အရေးယူပိတ်ဆို့ ကန့်သတ်မှုများအရ မိမိတို့အဖွဲ့အစည်း၏ ကျင့်ဝတ် ဂုဏ်သိက္ခာပိုင်းအရသော်လည်းကောင်း၊ နိုင်ငံတကာဥပဒေရေးရာအရ သော်လည်းကောင်း အရင်းအနှီးကြီးမားစွာ ပေးဆပ်၍ စွန့်စားလုပ်ဆောင်ရာကျနေကြောင်းကို အထူးသတိပြုစေလိုပါသည်။
၁၅။ အကြမ်းဖက်ကာ နိုင်ငံ၏ ကြွယ်ဝမှုများအား ခိုးဝှက်ယူနေသော တရားမဝင် အကြမ်းဖက်စစ်ကောင်စီ၏ ရန်မှ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံသူနိုင်ငံသားများအား ကာကွယ်နိုင်ရေးသည် ခရီးရှည်တစ်ရပ်ဖြစ်နိုင်ပါသည်။ အဆိုပါ အကြမ်းဖက် စစ်ကောင်စီအား မည်သည့်ဘဏ္ဍာရန်ပုံငွေမျှ မရရှိစေခြင်းသည် ၎င်းတို့ ကျရှုံးစေရေးအတွက် လွန်စွာ အရေးပါသော လုပ်ငန်းစဉ်တစ်ရပ်ဖြစ်ပါသည်။ ယခု ခြေလှမ်းသည် အစကနဦးသာဖြစ်သော်လည်း အောင်မြင် ရမည်ဟု ကျွန်ုပ်တို့ ခိုင်ခိုင်မာမာယုံကြည်ပါသည်။..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of Planning, Finance and Investment - NUG
Date of publication:
2021-05-30
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Business and the Military, Sanctions, Human Rights and international relations, Sanctions - general, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Sub-title:
Energy boss says revenue goes to the state – not the generals
Description:
"Energy giant, Total was forced to justify its response to the Myanmar coup to shareholders yesterday amid growing pressure from international campaigners to halt payments to the military regime.
Speaking at the company’s annual general meeting, Total’s chairman and chief executive Patrick Pouyanné said the company “condemned violence and the human rights violations that have taken place in Burma”.
Pouyanné said he was outraged by the coup.
He argued the “only way to stop the flow of cash going to the state of Burma is to stop production”.
“But as a company we have to abide by the law,” he concluded.
Total shareholders heard Pouyanné say the company was obliged to maintain production from its Yadana gas fields to honour contracts signed with PTT, its partner in Thailand which buys much of the gas produced there.
“If we decide to stop paying taxes we are not abiding by the law,” he said. “It is a criminal risk and I cannot expose the collaborators of Total in Burma to jail sentences. In this country there is also forced labour in force. So I cannot expose them to this risk.”
But the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw and opposition campaigners have called for Total not to suspend gas production, but to put the regime’s share of gas revenues into a protected account until democracy is restored, so that the regime does not have access to the money.
Offshore
Two days before the AGM, Total and its co-investor Chevron announced that the immensely profitable pipeline which carries Yadana’s gas to Thailand would “suspend” dividend payments to its shareholders.
“We listen to the stakeholders. And we have taken the call to limit the income going to the military junta. We have tried everything to reduce this,” the French oil boss told shareholders.
The state-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) is likely to lose about US$40 million a year in dividends as a result. This is because MOGE owns 15 per cent of the company which owns the pipeline, the Bermuda-based Moattama Gas Transportation Company (MGTC).
But campaign group, EarthRights International estimates that the suspension of Yadana pipeline dividends amounts to less than 10% of state revenue generated from Total’s Yadana gas project and described the move as “a small step in the right direction.”
“A more comprehensive action would be a complete shut-down of revenue-sharing with MOGE - its accounts are controlled by the regime,” EarthRights International wrote in a response on Twitter.
Pouyanné rejected suggestions that Total was paying money “offshore” to the military junta, despite the company locating MGTC in Bermuda. He said that Myanmar receives most of its share of gas revenue from Yadana via banks in Thailand.
Taxes
Total also told investors it stopped developing new potential projects in Myanmar, but the Total boss rejected calls to stop paying taxes to Myanmar while the junta is in charge of the country.
“When we pay taxes we don’t pay this to the army. We pay it to a state. We’ve been paying these taxes to the state for 20 years and we continue to do so. And we did so when Madam Aung San Suu Kyi was at the head of Burma.”
Pouyanné said it was not accurate for media reports to suggest that by partnering with MOGE it means it is paying Myanmar’s generals.
“When you read these newspapers, it sounds like the income is falling right into the pockets of these generals. It is not the case. The state obtains the income. (MOGE) was still in place when democracy was back in Burma.”
But campaigners have pointed out that MOGE – like all government agencies in Myanmar – is now under the control of the junta and has to obey its orders.
Total, now renamed TotalEnergies, would comply with any sanctions imposed by the United States or European Union, Pouyanné confirmed.
Sophie Brondel, coordinator of France-based campaign group Info Birmanie, told Myanmar Now: “Total continues to fund a junta labelled as a murderous criminal enterprise by a UN expert. This has to stop.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-05-29
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-30
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Oil and gas, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Sanctions - general
Language:
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Topic:
Business , Crisis and Conflict
Sub-title:
Governments Should Take Stronger Steps to Cut Natural Gas Revenues
Topic:
Business , Crisis and Conflict
Description:
"Governments and energy companies should follow up a recent decision by Chevron and Total SA to suspend payments from a gas pipeline project in Myanmar with additional steps to cut off funding to the country’s military junta, Human Rights Watch said today. While the May 26, 2021 announcement reflects a shift in corporate dealings with the junta that seized power on February 1 and has engaged in a brutal crackdown since, the payments are just a modest amount of the military’s overall gas revenues.
Governments and all energy companies operating in Myanmar should take stronger action to block natural gas revenues flowing to the Myanmar military. Natural gas revenue is the military’s largest source of foreign currency income, including approximately $1 billion in duties, taxes, royalties, fees, tariffs, and other profits. The dividends suspended by Chevron and Total are a minimal part of the overall payments the government receives from natural gas.
“Chevron and Total’s recent decision is a step in the right direction, but it affects less than 5 percent of the natural gas revenue the Myanmar junta receives,” said John Sifton, Asia advocacy director. “To have real impact, governments and companies need to go further to stop the junta from receiving funds or accessing bank accounts that receive payments.”
The decision announced by Total and Chevron concerns only a 15 percent dividend paid by a pipeline company, the Moattama Gas Transportation Company (“Moattama”), from profits from transportation fees it earns moving gas from Myanmar’s offshore Yadana gas field to Myanmar and Thailand. Total said the payments were suspended as of April 1.
Total and Chevron together are the majority owners in Moattama, with 31.2 percent and 28.3 percent of the project, respectively. The military-controlled company Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), owns 15 percent, and the Thailand state-owned gas company PTT owns 25.5 percent. Total acts as the “operator” of the Yadana wellheads and Moattama’s pipeline infrastructure. The suspended payments are dividends to these companies based on their ownership share. According to Moattama financial records, the company paid MOGE about $38 million in 2018 and approximately $52 million in 2019, consistent with EITI reporting indicating that MOGE’s overall gas transportation dividends from gas operations are less than 7 percent of overall state revenue from natural gas.
Total’s and Chevron’s statements do not mention the hundreds of millions of dollars in additional tariffs, fees, and tax payments that Moattama pays to Myanmar military-controlled bank accounts. The statement does not apply to hundreds of millions of dollars more that MOGE receives from its share of revenues from selling gas to PTT.
“While only a modest amount of the overall revenues was suspended, Total and Chevron’s decision signifies that at least some companies in Myanmar recognize that their cash payments to junta-controlled accounts create major reputational risks,” Sifton said.
Total acknowledged the dire situation in Myanmar and suggested in its statement that further action might be taken: “Total condemns the violence and human rights abuses occurring in Myanmar and reaffirms that it will comply with any decision that may be taken by international and national authorities, including applicable sanctions issued by the EU or US authorities.”
Chevron’s statement noted that the company “condemns the violence and human rights abuses occurring in Myanmar. We stand with the people of Myanmar and the global community in urging for a peaceful resolution that respects the will of the people.” The company said that it would respect sanctions imposed on additional gas revenue but cautioned against them.
Total and Chevron should provide more information on the value of the dividends that have been suspended. They and other energy companies operating in Myanmar should also clarify their positions on sanctions and explain why carefully applied sanctions would not allow their operations to continue while revenues to the junta were blocked. The companies should also adhere to applicable international sanctions and make public information about all payments they make to military-controlled and state-owned entities.
Total has not yet replied to a May 11 letter in which Human Rights Watch asked about the potential effects, if any, of the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, and others imposing sanctions on Myanmar military-controlled entities or imposing economic measures to block Myanmar military-controlled bank accounts from receiving revenues. Specifically, the letter asked whether such measures would prevent Total from continuing to operate in Myanmar.
Governments considering new sanctions on gas revenue should focus more attention on PTT, a shareholder and primary purchaser of the gas that Moattama transports, and the banks that send and receive its payments to Myanmar military-controlled accounts. All the revenue from Total’s joint ventures in Myanmar come from PTT in the first instance, and the company separately pays military accounts hundreds of millions of dollars yearly.
PTT alone also operates a separate smaller gas field, Zawtika, which provides the Myanmar junta hundreds of millions of dollars in additional payments.
Another gas production and pipeline venture run by the South Korean company POSCO operates in the country’s third major field, Shwe, and receives payments from a Chinese-owned company that pays the junta several hundred million dollars per year.
Total, Chevron, PTT, and POSCO should signal support to authorities in the US, EU, Thailand, and other jurisdictions for sanctions or other measures to block royalties, share dividends, tariffs, and tax payments to Myanmar military-controlled accounts.
“If governments effectively sanction or suspend the natural gas revenue generated for the military junta, it will lose $1 billion a year being used to hurt Myanmar’s people,” Sifton said. “That kind of economic impact could put real pressure on the military to stop its brutal repression and return the country to a democratic path.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-05-28
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Formal Sanctions, Sanctions, Business and the Military, Human Rights and international relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
more
Topic:
Myanmar/Burma, China, ASEAN, sanctions, pariah states, authoritarian transitions, Aung San Suu Kyi
Topic:
Myanmar/Burma, China, ASEAN, sanctions, pariah states, authoritarian transitions, Aung San Suu Kyi
Description:
"Abstract: Myanmar’s liberalizing reforms since late 2010 have effectively shed the country’s decades-long “pariah state” status. This article evaluates competing explanations for why Myanmar’s leaders made the strategic decision to pursue reform and opening. We examine whether the strategic decision was motivated by fears of sudden regime change, by socialization into the norms of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), or by the geopolitics of overreliance on China. Drawing on newly available materials and recent field interviews in Myanmar, we demonstrate how difficult it is for international actors to persuade a pariah state through sanctions or engagement, given the pariah regime’s intense focus on maintaining power. However, reliance on a more powerful neighbour can reach a point where costs to national autonomy become unacceptable, motivating reforms for the sake of economic and diplomatic diversification.....Acknowledgments: We gratefully acknowledge the participation of interviewees in Yangon, Naypyidaw, Seoul, and Washington, DC. Research assistance was provided by Andrew Choi, Esther Pau Sann Cing, Li Xuan, Li Zimeng, Wang Qichao, Wu Shangwei, Zhang Xiaorui, and Zhou Xin. We also wish to thank the editor, three anonymous reviewers, and participants at the 2014 Murdoch-Macau Colloquium on Political Change and Governance in Asia, whose comments greatly improved this article. We thank the Asan Institute for Policy Studies for supporting Leif-Eric Easley’s research travel to Myanmar in 2014. Research for this article was funded in part by a grant from the University of Macau (SRG2013-00057-FSS). For over two decades, Myanmar suffered the reputation of an international pariah. After the 1988 coup that inaugurated 22 years of military rule under the State Law and Order Restoration Council / State Peace and Development Council (SLORC/SPDC),1
Myanmar incurred international condemnation and sanctions for human rights violations, including annulling the National League for Democracy’s (NLD) electoral victory in 1990; detaining opposition leaders, including NLD General Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi; killing civilians during military campaigns against armed ethnic
minority groups; violently suppressing civil protests in the 2007 “Saffron Revolution”; and muzzling free speech and the press.2
The junta appeared unmoved by sanctions and international exhortations to pursue reform and opening. Its apparent steps toward ending military rule under the 2003 “Roadmap to Discipline-Flourishing Democracy” were often marred by process irregularities, lack of inclusiveness and transparency, and restrictions
on and sometimes violent repression of opposition parties. Though the SPDC held landmark elections for a civilian government in November 2010, supporters of democracy were not encouraged when the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) swept the polls and elevated Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein to the presidency.
Many were surprised, however, when Thein Sein initiated extensive
reforms in 2011: releasing political prisoners, loosening media and civil
society restrictions, and allowing Aung San Suu Kyi and other opposition members to run for parliament. Myanmar’s pariah status quickly abated as a parade of foreign leaders visited the country and eased sanctions. In November 2015, Myanmar’s first general election under nominally civilian rule saw the NLD defeat the USDP in a landslide, marking a new era in Myanmar’s politics.3
The manner in which Myanmar pursued transformative reforms raises
important questions. Why did the SPDC pursue reform and opening when it did? What motivated the strategic decision to pursue transformative policies? Several scholars have argued that domestic factors drove Myanmar’s reforms. Jones maintains that the junta’s co-optation of ethnic militias allowed it to resume a democratization process it had begun and aborted in 1990 and again in 1996.4 Bünte, along with Croissant and Kamerling, emphasizes
the aging SPDC leaders’ desire to manage succession politics through institutionalization.5 Roger Lee Huang argues that the junta sought to retain political control but did not foresee the extent of reforms under Thein Sein, an assessment shared by MacDonald.6 Other scholarship emphasizes international factors as primary catalysts
for reform. One argument is that Myanmar’s leaders implemented domestic reforms to pursue rapprochement with the European Union, the United States, and other sanctions-imposing countries, and to counterbalance China’s growing political and economic influence.7
Another possible factor behind Myanmar’s transition is the socializing role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and more generally, Myanmar’s desire for international prestige.8
While more than one of these factors may have motivated Myanmar’s reforms, an “all of the above” answer leaves the country’s political transformation over-determined and under-examined.
This article weighs the theoretical logic and empirical evidence for three competing explanations for Myanmar’s strategic decision to pursue transformative policies: first, junta leaders’ desire to maintain power and avoid sudden regime change; second, socialization into ASEAN norms; and third, the desire to reduce China’s political and economic influence over Myanmar.9 We base our research on numerous interviews with key informants in or engaged with Myanmar, as well as on primary documents. We find that
while multiple factors motivated Myanmar’s strategic decision, the most important driver was concern about China’s growing influence.
To frame the analysis, the next section defines pariah states and what it means to make a strategic decision to pursue transformative policies and exit pariahdom. We then briefly outline our interview methodology before discussing the timing of Myanmar’s transformative reforms. Subsequent sections review theoretical bases and empirical support for each of the three competing explanations. In the conclusion, we summarize our findings and discuss possible implications for other pariah states and for Myanmar’s political future..."
Source/publisher:
Pacific Affairs (Canada)
Date of publication:
2016-09-00
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sanctions - general, ASEAN-Burma relations, China-Burma relations, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Burma's economic relations with China, About Aung San Suu Kyi, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Articles on the NLD, Military History, Political History
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Format :
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130.43 KB
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Description:
"Energy giant TotalEnergies(TOTF.PA) said on Friday it had gone as far as it could for now to limit the revenues going to the military junta in Myanmar while staying within a legal framework and assuring power supplies.
Total and U.S. energy company Chevron (CVX.N) earlier this week said they were suspending some payments from a gas joint venture that would have reached the junta, earning praise from pro-democracy activists for taking an important first step.
International companies doing business in the country have come under pressure from rights groups and Myanmar's parallel civilian government to review their operations to stop payments flowing to a military government that seized power on Feb. 1.
TotalEnergies Chairman and Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne told a shareholder meeting on Friday that the only way to fully stop all revenues flowing to the junta would be to halt production in the Yadana gas fields, which supply power plants in Thailand and Myanmar's domestic market.
The company has rejected this option for now, saying it would expose workers and the group to legal threats and penalise the region in terms of energy access.
"First of all, the bulk of revenues come from the fact there's a client that buys that production, which is Thai company PTTEP ... and then there are the taxes," Pouyanne said.
"Deciding to not pay taxes would mean we would be in breach of the law, there's a criminal risk attached.".....SANCTIONS: Total would comply with any further sanctions imposed on Myanmar, including by the United States and the European Union, Pouyanne added.
Earlier this week shareholders in the Moattama Gas Transportation Company (MGTC) - led by Total and Chevron and which also includes Thailand's PTTEP and Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) - voted to suspend all cash distributions.
That move will curtail revenues going to MOGE.
But MOGE, which is a state energy firm, is also an operator of the Yadana gas field, meaning it receives revenues from there.
Pouyanne said no revenues flowing to Myanmar state coffers went through offshore accounts, even though MGTC, the gas transportation company, is domiciled in Bermuda.
He said MOGE received its payments from Thai group PTTEP through bank accounts set up by the Myanmar state in Thailand, and that payments to MGTC were also made via Thai bank accounts.
A spokesman for Myanmar's military junta did not answer phone calls seeking comment on the issue.
MGTC paid its taxes in Myanmar, Pouyanne added..."
Source/publisher:
Total SE ( Paris)
Date of publication:
2021-05-28
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Oil and gas, Business and the Military, Sanctions, The Burmese military's role in the economy, Sanctions - general
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Total and Chevron halt some payments to military in wake of coup but advocacy groups say more needs to be done
Description:
"Advocacy groups have called on French fossil fuel giant Total and US company Chevron to further cut ties with Myanmar’s military, after announcing they would suspend dividend payments to the junta from a large gas project in the wake of February’s coup.
“Total condemns the violence and human rights abuses occurring in Myanmar and reaffirms that it will comply with any decision that may be taken by the relevant international and national authorities, including applicable sanctions issued by the EU or the US authorities,” the company said in a statement.
But advocacy groups said 90% of the money the junta makes from the Yadana gasfield joint venture with Total and Chevron – as well as the gas itself – continues to flow.
Since the military deposed Aung San Suu Kyi’s government, more than 5,400 people have been arrested, according to monitoring group AAPP Burma, with the majority still in detention, often in unknown locations. At least 824 people have been killed by the junta, including dozens of children, sparking global outcry and calls for international companies to cut their business ties with the military.
Total told a shareholder meeting this month that Moattama Gas Transportation Company Limited (MGTC) – a joint venture that pipes gas from the Yadana field in the Andaman sea to Myanmar – had decided to stop making dividend payments to the junta.
The resolution was put forward by Total, which owns 31.24% of MGTC, and Chevron, which owns 28.26% of MGTC – shareholdings that give the two multinationals a controlling stake.
The rest of MGTC is owned by PTTEP, which is controlled by the Thai state (25.5%) and Myanmar government company Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (15%).
However, advocacy group Justice for Myanmar pointed out oil was still flowing through the pipeline and the vast majority of payments to the junta have not been affected.
The junta, which seized power on 1 February, still earns the state’s share of gas revenue, royalties and cost recovery from the Yadana gas field operation and corporate income tax from the MGTC.
MGTC’s suspension of dividends accounts for a tiny proportion of the estimated US$1.5bn Myanmar earns annual from offshore oil and gas projects.
Spokesperson for Justice For Myanmar Yadanar Maung said the decision to suspend dividend payments would curb one source of revenue for the illegitimate military government in Myanmar.
“Total and Chevron have made enormous profits in Myanmar in the past while simultaneously bolstering brutal military regimes … [they] have made the right choice by finally acknowledging that MOGE [Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise] is under the control of the military and finances the junta’s crimes.”
Anti-corruption group Publish What You Pay Australia said Total and Chevron’s decision to stop dividends was “a positive first step in supporting the people of Myanmar and will begin to limit the murderous Myanmar military regime’s access to vital foreign currency”.
“We urge them to stop the other 90% of payments flowing to the military from the pipeline,” the group’s director, Clancy Moore, said.
He said that in the 2017-18 financial year, MGTC paid $141m to MOGE in taxes and dividends, made up of $41m in dividends and $100m in taxes.
“Total and Chevron must stop financing the military generals who have blood on their hands and put payments into escrow accounts,” he said.
Chevron said it was aware of calls to shut off the gas and put all payments due to MOGE into an escrow account instead of paying the regime.
“Any actions should be carefully considered to ensure the people of Myanmar are not further disadvantaged by unintended and unpredictable consequences of well-intentioned decisions,” it said in a statement.
“Gas produced by the Yadana project is used to supply electricity for approximately half the population of Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city, and also for people in Thailand.
“Effectively turning off the power to half of Yangon’s homes, schools and hospitals – in the middle of a state of emergency and a pandemic – risks creating even more hardship.”
In its statement, Total did not address the other payments made to the junta. “Total continues to act as a responsible operator of the Yadana field, maintaining the production of gas in accordance with applicable laws, so as not to disrupt the electricity supply that is vital to the local populations of Myanmar and Thailand,” it said..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-05-27
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-27
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Oil and gas, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Sanctions - general, Human Rights and international relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Oil and Gas Firm PTT Should Cut Ties with Military Enterprises, Abusive Cronies
Description:
"Thailand’s majority state-owned oil and gas company, PTT, is partnering with military-linked companies to expand its engagement in Myanmar, Human Rights Watch said today. This growth comes on top of the half a billion dollars PTT already pays annually to junta-controlled enterprises through its existing operations in Myanmar’s gas fields.
A 2019 PTT joint venture is paying the military conglomerate Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) nearly US$1 million in annual rent for the construction of a fuel terminal on land seized from farmers. The United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and Canada have sanctioned MEC and the other military conglomerate, Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL), for their role in generating vast revenues that help fund the military’s abuses and enshrine its impunity.
PTT should end ties with Myanmar’s military enterprises and suspend all new investment in the country until a democratic government is established. Foreign governments should also adopt measures to block direct or indirect payments to the State Administration Council (SAC) junta from oil and gas projects operated by PTT and other companies.
“By expanding business ties with the Myanmar military as it carries out a bloody crackdown, the Thai state-owned PTT has shown little regard for the lives and freedom of Myanmar’s people,” said Shayna Bauchner, Asia researcher. “PTT’s leadership should respect international sanctions and cut ties with the junta to avoid being complicit in its crimes.”
Since the February 1, 2021 coup that overthrew the duly elected government, Myanmar’s military has responded with increasing brutality to nationwide pro-democracy protests. State security forces have killed over 820 people and detained an estimated 4,300 activists, journalists, civil servants, and politicians.
PTT has conducted oil and gas exploration and production in Myanmar since 1989, paying Myanmar state-controlled entities billions of dollars for gas in fees, taxes, royalties, and revenues. But with production declining in recent years, the company has ramped up its midstream and downstream investments in the country, with the stated goal of becoming the “top Myanmar provider” of petroleum products. Human Rights Watch wrote PTT on May 11, inquiring about the company’s operations in Myanmar, but received no response.
The Indian company Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone was recently removed from the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices due to “heightened risks to the company regarding their commercial relationship with Myanmar’s military,” following a campaign by groups Justice for Myanmar, the Australian Centre for International Justice, and Market Forces. Like PTT, Adani had acquired land from MEC. PTT and four subsidiaries are listed on the same sustainability index. Human Rights Watch contacted S&P Dow Jones Indices requesting that they review PTT according to the same standard as Adani.
PTT’s plans for growth are outlined in part in a March 2017 memorandum of understanding, recently leaked by transparency collective DDoSecrets, with the military-aligned Kanbawza Group (KBZ). The company later announced plans to invest over $200 million in its partnership with KBZ.
In 2019, PTT Oil and Retail (PTTOR, a PTT subsidiary) and KBZ began a joint venture to build a jetty, fuel oil storage terminal, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) filling plant in the Thilawa area of Kyauktan township, Yangon Region, with a stated investment of $150 million. The terminal will be largest in the country, according to PTT, with a reported capacity of one million barrels of oil and 4,500 metric tons of LPG. It was originally slated for completion in 2021.
KBZ, a major Myanmar conglomerate owned by a longtime military crony, Aung Ko Win, runs the country’s largest bank and dozens of companies across mining, manufacturing, technology, trade, and other industries. KBZ maintains close personal, financial, and commercial ties to the military that benefit and enable the security forces. In 2019, the United Nations-backed Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar found that KBZ donated US$4.7 million to the 2017 security force operations against the ethnic Rohingya in Rakhine State, and concluded that KBZ officials should be investigated and prosecuted as appropriate for having “aided, abetted, or otherwise assisted in the crimes against humanity of persecution and other inhumane acts.”
KBZ has also partnered with the military-conglomerate MEHL for over two decades in jade and gems mining ventures. The EU sanctioned Kanbawza Bank, Aung Ko Win, and his family members until 2012 for their engagement with the prior military junta. Human Rights Watch wrote KBZ on May 11 but received no response.
To develop the fuel terminal, the PTTOR and KBZ joint venture, Brighter Energy, is leasing land from MEC and the Ministry of Defense under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) agreement, according to leaked Myanmar Investment Commission documents. PTT bought a 35 percent stake in Brighter Energy from KBZ in 2019.
The BOT agreement covers 168.5 acres of land owned by MEC near its shipbreaking factory in Thilawa and is valid for 50 years following a two-year construction period, with the option to renew for two additional 10-year terms. Lease payments to MEC include a $1,685,000 land use premium fee and $808,800 annual rent, for a total of $42 million over the contract period. All fuel terminal structures and fixtures are to be transferred to MEC at no cost when the lease ends. The agreement is signed by Thant Swe, MEC managing director, who was recently sanctioned by the UK, and Brighter Energy directors.
The authorities acquired the land in Kyauktan’s Thida Myaing ward by seizing it from farmers who had worked there for decades, nongovernmental organizations EarthRights International and Namati reported. In 2014, MEC filed a criminal trespass complaint against 33 farmers based on a 1996 illegal confiscation attempt by military government officials. The farmers were found guilty in 2018. That year, MEC filed land record forms of the area in an application to use 168.5 acres for “buildings and storage tanks.”
PTT and KBZ will also pay a significant amount in taxes to the junta-controlled Internal Revenue Department. In an annex to the contract, the combined commercial and income tax over the first 20 years is estimated at $1.36 billion. Brighter Energy lists the terminal’s estimated net profit as $65.7 million in the first year of operation and $104 million annually after 10 years, with an additional $63 million per year from oil and gas sales.
The fuel terminal project is just one example of PTT’s planned expansion in Myanmar. In December 2020, PTT signed an agreement to invest $2 billion in a new gas-to-power project for domestic use with the Ministry of Electricity and Energy, now led by SAC Minister Aung Than Oo, who was sanctioned by the EU for his role in the previous military junta. A PTT executive, Phongsthorn Thavisin, told reporters in March that the project was not affected by the coup and would move ahead, saying the company was politically neutral. PTT sought tenders in May for a drilling rig in the project location.
PTT already pays Myanmar over $500 million a year through its projects with the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) in three of the country’s four major gas fields. The company reported paying $125 million in taxes in 2019 to the Ministry of Planning, Finance, and Industry, now led by SAC Minister Win Shein, recently sanctioned by the US.
PTT’s human rights standards state that the company is guided by international human rights treaties and other internationally accepted standards on human rights applicable to companies, including the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Since the coup, the State Administration Council has seized control of all government ministries and state-owned enterprises – as well as their bank accounts – including those involved in PTT’s projects. The junta has also overhauled the Myanmar Investment Commission, responsible for facilitating all foreign investment, installing as chair Lt. Gen. Moe Myint Tun, also a member of the junta. The US, UK, EU, and Canada have sanctioned Moe Myint Tun for committing serious human rights violations, both as a member of SAC and in his previous role as army chief of staff overseeing operations against the Rohingya in 2017. As with other military leaders, Moe Myint Tun is a director of both MEC and MEHL.
Foreign governments should block payments to the junta and state-owned enterprises from foreign-financed oil and gas projects, such as those operated by PTT, Total, and Chevron. Such measures can be designed to target the junta’s access to foreign accounts while allowing for the continued production of gas and electricity.
Thai financial authorities should cooperate with governments that have imposed sanctions and instruct Thai banks processing foreign currency transactions to comply with other countries’ economic measures and sanctions.
Governments that have sanctioned MEC and MEHL should encourage Thailand, Japan, Singapore, and other countries with significant investment in Myanmar to adopt similar measures.
“PTT’s investments in Myanmar provide hundreds of millions of dollars to the military,” Bauchner said. “Concerned governments should zero in on these sources of funds as a prime target for sanctions to make it much harder for coup leader Min Aung Hlaing, the junta, and other generals to benefit from their atrocities.”..."
Source/publisher:
"Human Rights Watch" (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-05-26
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-26
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Thailand-Burma relations, Sanctions - general, Sanctions, Business and the Military, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Description:
"UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews on Thursday urged all countries to follow the path taken by the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.....Ramp up sanctions: “It is imperative that the international community ramp up the size and scope of sanctions as the junta ramps up its repression of the people of Myanmar”, he said.
Myanmar’s military leaders, known as the State Administrative Council (SAC), seized power in a coup in February and have launched brutal crackdowns against pro-democracy demonstrators.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has repeatedly called on the military to respect the will of the people, and his Special Envoy, Christine Schraner Burgener, continues ongoing dialogue with key stakeholders in the region.....‘A new blow’: Mr. Andrews particularly highlighted the US decision to target the SAC and 16 individuals, announced on Monday, which freezes their assets and bars US nationals from providing funds, goods or services that benefit the coup leaders.
“This week the United States has taken one of the most significant steps to date against the Myanmar junta, first by sanctioning not only individuals but the State Administrative Council itself; and second, by opening the door to targeting those who continue to do business with the junta and therefore aid and abet their relentless attacks against the people of Myanmar,” he said.
“The designation of the SAC strikes a new blow to the junta’s finances. It is a significant step in the right direction.”.....A wake-up call: Mr Andrews added that the naming of the SAC paves the way for further designations of individuals or entities determined to have “materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to” the Council.
“This is a warning to all those who are willing to conduct business as usual with the junta,” he said. “Those who continue to aid and abet this murderous enterprise — be they international businesses, banks, arms traffickers, or government entities providing financial, technological or other support — are now on notice that they themselves could face sanctions.”
The rights expert added “I am hopeful that this action will be a wake-up call. Not only is doing business with the junta morally reprehensible, it could now mean being cut off from the U.S. financial system and/or facing criminal or civil penalties in the United States. If doing the right and just thing is not a factor in one’s decision making, then perhaps protecting one’s self interest will be.”.....Step up now: Mr Andrews also welcomed fresh sanctions imposed on Monday by the UK and Canada, including those which target the military from profiting from the timber and gems trade.
“The coordination of these sanctions by the US, UK, and Canada is a welcome development”, the UN expert said. “Hopefully it will lead to a tough, fully coordinated multilateral sanctions regime that enables nations to deliver the most powerful blow possible against the horror that is being inflicted on the people of Myanmar.”
He said, however, more must be done, and quickly.
“The revenue that they continue to seize from the oil and gas sector has become a lifeline for the junta. Profits from this sector are estimated to be close to what is needed to supply the forces that are keeping them in power,” he said.
“We know the junta’s sources of funds are limited and that the income from oil and gas sales helped previous juntas withstand international sanctions. The people of Myanmar cannot afford for history to repeat itself.”
Mr Andrews also called for other nations to take action. “I urge those countries that have yet to impose costs on the junta for its illegal coup and its systematic atrocities and human rights violations to reconsider,” he said. “Now is the time to step up.”.....Role of Special Rapporteurs: Special Rapporteurs, like Mr. Andrews, are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor specific countries or thematic issues.
They serve in their individual capacity and are not UN staff, nor are they paid by the Organization..."
Source/publisher:
UN News
Date of publication:
2021-05-20
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, Sanctions - general, Economic activities of the Myanmar Military, Business and the Military, Sanctions, The UN and Burma - news and commentary
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"Today I would like to express my most sincere thanks to the Government of Canada for designating 16 individuals and 10 entities with strict sanctions who are supporting the killing of innocent civilians nationwide, most recently in Mindat, Chin State.
I would also like to reiterate my sincere thanks to the People and Government of Canada for standing in solidarity and being a strong voice for the people of Myanmar. I also want to express my gratitude for the efforts of the Canadian Government on coordinating targeted sanctions against key tatmadaw personnel, tatmadaw linked companies and enterprises such as MEC, MGE and MEHL together
with the United States and Great Britain. Additionally, I would like to further thank the Government of Canada for taking a strong leadership role in the UN and G7 summits on behalf of the people of Myanmar, and for the recognition of CRPH and NUG as important voices of many in this nation. The official press release is as follows:
May 17, 2021 - Ottawa, Ontario - Global Affairs Canada
“The Honourable Marc Gameau, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced additional sanctions against 16 individuals and 10 entities under the Special Economic Measures (Burma) Regulations in response to the military’s ongoing brutal repression of the people of Myanmar and their refusal to take steps to restore democracy.
These actions are taken in coordination with the United Kingdom and the United States, and align with measures recently imposed by the European Union. They are also consistent with our G7 commitment to continue to take action should the Tatmadaw fail to reverse its course. This latest step demonstrates our unwavering determination to hold the Tatmadaw accountable and help restore democracy as
demanded by the people of Myanmar. Canada will continue to take additional actions, in coordination with our partners, should the Tatmadaw refuse to reverse course. Canada urges other countries to impose similar measures, including arms embargos. For more than 100 days, the people of Myanmar have demonstrated
impressive resilience and determination in the face of a violent military regime. Canada stands in solidarity with the people of Myanmar and their desire for a peaceful, inclusive and democratic future.
We acknowledge and appreciate the central role of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in responding to the crisis in Myanmar. Canada is ready to work with ASEAN to advance the swift implementation of the 5-point consensus. We urge the Tatmadaw to cooperate unconditionally and immediately with ASEAN and the UN.
“Despite numerous international calls for the Tatmadaw to end its violence against its own people in Myanmar, it is clearly showing its unwillingness to change its course of action. Canada stands ready to lend our support to ASEAN and UN efforts to initiate an inclusive political dialogue to end the crisis and restore democratic, civilian governance. Canada stands with the people of Myanmar as they
continue to fight to restore democracy and freedom in their country and we will not hesitate to take further action.” - Marc Garneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs” We urge the international communities to help us put more financial pressure on the junta. Ideally, this would come through coordinated international action following
passage of a strong resolution by the UNSC. Unfortunately, that is not likely to happen, so it is critical for all the nations of the world who stand with us to band together in a coordinated campaign of further sanctions that would cut the flow of revenue and weapons sales to this murderous regime. If stricter and tougher sanctions are not imposed right away, it won’t be long before strife and bloodshed break out across this nation as the tatmadaw terrorist forces unleash more inhumane cruelty against innocent and defenseless citizens. We
once again appeal to the International Communities which have the power to end this nightmare - this reign of terror, especially all like-minded free and democratic countries around the world to come together to put targeted, coordinated, stronger sanctions on the murderous regime of the terrorist junta in Myanmar. I am therefore
asking the Government of Canada and the International communities to place sanctions against Myanmar Oil and Gas and all state-owned enterprises as quickly as possible. We once again urge all children and families of the terrorist junta 'SAC' to help end your parent's reign of terror on the 54 million people of Myanmar. Nearly 800
National Heroes, including 52 children have been murdered by your parents. H.E. Dr. Sasa Union Minister of the Ministry of International Cooperation & NUG Spokesperson.."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of International Cooperation Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-05-18
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-20
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Canada-Burma relations, Sanctions - general, Economic activities of the Myanmar Military, Business and the Military, Sanctions, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Sub-title:
Myanmar's peaceful protests are morphing into a hit-and-run resistance movement against military rule
Description:
"Another military airbase has come under rocket attack in central Myanmar, a shadowy but strategic assault that even tightly censored, military-controlled media felt compelled to report.
On May 15, three 107mm rockets were fired at Toungoo airbase, situated just 95 kilometers from the capital Naypyitaw, according to the state mouthpiece Global New Light of Myanmar. The rocket attack follows similar assaults on air bases at Magwe and Meiktila in late April.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but they come after recent Tatmadaw aerial bombardments in Kayin and Kachin states, where ethnic armies are battling the military and anti-coup protesters have recently taken refuge from rising, lethal military violence in urban areas.
Myanmar’s civil wars, until now confined mainly to relatively remote ethnic frontier regions, are now spreading to the country’s heartland and urban areas. Rather than ethnic army fighters, recent attacks have more likely been launched by new-age militants from the ethnic Bamar majority.
Shadowy attacks on military soft and hard targets are mounting. On May 18, a local junta-appointed official was assassinated in Yangon’s Lanmadaw district after two bomb blasts at his office. According to Yangon-based sources, the official was known to be a key military informant and his actions had led to the arrest of several pro-democracy protesters.
Bombs have also detonated in various towns in Sagaing and Mandalay Regions and in Shan, Mon and Chin states. When the coup leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, visited Sagaing City on May 18 a bomb exploded even there despite tight security.
A clear example of this new resistance to military rule was recently seen in Mindat, a town in Chin State but close to the border with the central region of Magwe. The Chinland Defense Force (CDF), a newly formed local militia, took over the town and retreated only after heavily armed Tatmadaw units counterattacked with artillery and helicopter gunfire.
Before those reinforcements arrived, local militants armed with only hunting rifles and homemade bombs killed several Tatmadaw soldiers. Until now, Chin state is the only ethnic state in Myanmar that has not seen widespread insurgency. (The ceasefire Chin National Front was never a formidable force.)
What began as peaceful, even joyful demonstrations against coup leader Senior General Min Aung Hlaing’s democracy-suspending February 1 coup is now morphing into shadowy armed resistance across the country. The list of anti-military counterattacks is growing by the day.
For instance, a bomb exploded at the Daik-U township’s education office in the Bago Region on May 16. That same day, another bomb detonated at the Mogok township general administrator’s office in the Mandalay Region.
On May 17, the Htone Bo Ward administration office in Sagaing township was burned down. On May 18, a truck carrying food supplies for Myanmar army soldiers was torched on the Mogaung-Tanai Ledo road in Kachin State.
The shift from peaceful to violent protest came only after demonstrators were violently and lethally attacked by soldiers and police, with snipers shooting teenagers and even killing children as young as five, according to news reports.
Nearly 800 people have been killed by the police and Tatmadaw since Min Aung Hlaing seized power from an elected government. Close to 5,000 have been arrested, including politicians, journalists, lawyers and community workers. An unknown number are now in hiding or have fled to border areas or across the border into exile.
Yangon residents say the persistent unrest appears to be taking a toll on the mental health of front-line police and soldiers who are ordered by their superiors to use lethal force against the general population.
“They are staying inside hospitals, schools, police stations and secluded compounds and when they venture out of those, local activists inform their comrades in other parts of Yangon,” one Yangon-based source said.
Three and a half months after the coup, anti-coup demonstrators are still marching in the streets in defiance. Many others, sources say, are getting ready for more violent action.
They say the assassination of the official in Lanmadaw is probably only the beginning of what could quickly turn into urban warfare scenarios in major cities nationwide. According to some reports, automatic weapons and grenades have already been sent to activists in Yangon.
Myanmar may not become a full-blown failed state — much of the economy is and has always been run underground and thus not measured in official statistics — but the nation is definitely now a failing state.
Tens of thousands of health workers and teachers have been fired for taking part in the so-called Civil Disobedience Movement. Banks are reportedly running out of cash as people — if they are lucky — withdraw their savings. Many have imposed fees of 8%-9% to withdraw funds or imposed outright limits on the amount that can be taken out.
A brain drain has also begun as many well-educated people have leveraged various channels to leave the country. What happens next is not clear, but Min Aung Hlaing’s power-grab is measuring up as perhaps the most unsuccessful military coup in modern Asian history.
To be sure United States (US) and European Union (EU) sanctions have so far had no deterrent effect on the military’s onslaught. The severest action that can be taken by the United Nations (UN) would be a resolution calling for an “immediate suspension” of weapons transfers to the junta.
Although recently introduced by the tiny European principality of Liechtenstein, which is not an EU member, and supported by the EU, UK and US, it will inevitably be vetoed at the UN Security Council by permanent members China and Russia.
What is clear, however, is that Min Aung Hlaing has ruined his chance of becoming a credible political leader. As military commander-in-chief, he traveled more widely than any of his predecessors on what the Tatmadaw called “goodwill missions.”
According to a study compiled by the Tagaung Institute of Political Studies, a Yangon-based think tank, his trips took him to China, Russia, Vietnam, Thailand, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Belarus, Serbia, Brunei, Pakistan and even Belgium, Austria, Germany and Italy.
He won’t likely be welcome again in many of those countries. His future standing in Myanmar is also on shaky ground, with critics and commentators saying he has single-handedly destroyed his legacy as an armed forces commander while making the military even more an object of contempt in the public’s eye.
But even if the Tatmadaw moved to oust him from his positions of power in a face-saving counter-coup – for now, more wishful thinking than likely scenario – there is no guarantee that his military successors would be in favor of the kind of openness Myanmar enjoyed from 2011 until this year’s disastrous coup..."
Source/publisher:
"Asia Times" (Hong Kong)
Date of publication:
2021-05-19
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-19
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Anti-coup protesters, Spring Revolution, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Human Rights and international relations, Sanctions - general, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Description:
"Burma Campaign UK today welcomed an announcement by the British government that they are imposing sanctions on Myanmar Gems Enterprise (MGE). MGE manages the gemstones industry in Burma, which will be a significant source of revenue for the military now that it has seized control of government ministries.
MGE is a state-owned enterprise under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation. MGE was sanctioned by the USA on 8th April 2021.
The UK sanctions follow previous sanctions on two military-owned conglomerates, Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC).
Since the military coup on 1st February 2021 around 800 people have been killed, more than 5,000 arrested and more than 60,000 displaced from their homes by the Burmese military. It is essential that the British government uses all tools at its disposal, economic, legal, diplomatic and building an arms embargo coalition, in order to maximise pressure on the Burmese military.
“Today’s new sanctions are another positive step by the British government towards cutting revenue going to the military,” said Anna Roberts, Executive Director of Burma Campaign UK. “The government now needs to moves swiftly to ban imports of gems from Burma, and expand sanctions to the timber industry as well.”
Burma Campaign UK is also calling on the European Union to sanction Burma’s timber and gems industries, now that the military is the main beneficiary of revenue from these industries..."
Source/publisher:
"Burma Campaign UK" (London)
Date of publication:
2021-05-17
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sanctions - general, UK-Burma relations, Economic activities of the Myanmar Military, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Gems - mining and trade, Gems
Language:
more
Description:
"The Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced additional sanctions against 16 individuals and 10 entities under the Special Economic Measures (Burma) Regulations in response to the military’s ongoing brutal repression of the people of Myanmar and their refusal to take steps to restore democracy.
These actions are taken in coordination with the United Kingdom and the United States, and align with measures recently imposed by the European Union. They are also consistent with our G7 commitment to continue to take action should the Tatmadaw fail to reverse its course. This latest step demonstrates our unwavering determination to hold the Tatmadaw accountable and help restore democracy as demanded by the people of Myanmar. Canada will continue to take additional actions, in coordination with our partners, should the Tatmadaw refuse to reverse course. Canada urges other countries to impose similar measures, including arms embargos.
For more than 100 days, the people of Myanmar have demonstrated impressive resilience and determination in the face of a violent military regime. Canada stands in solidarity with the people of Myanmar and their desire for a peaceful, inclusive and democratic future.
We acknowledge and appreciate the central role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in responding to the crisis in Myanmar. Canada is ready to work with ASEAN to advance the swift implementation of the 5-point consensus. We urge the Tatmadaw to cooperate unconditionally and immediately with ASEAN and the UN..."
Source/publisher:
Global Affairs Canada
Date of publication:
2021-05-17
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Canada-Burma relations, Sanctions - general, ASEAN-Burma relations, Economic activities of the Myanmar Military, Business and the Military, Sanctions
Language:
more
Description:
"Today I would like to express my most sincere thanks to the Government of the United Kingdom for designating Myanmar Gems Enterprise (MGE) with strict sanctions as a company that is directly supporting the killing of innocent civilians by supplying huge revenue streams to the terrorist regime forces.
I would also like to reiterate my sincere thanks to the People, Parliament and Government of the United Kingdom for standing in solidarity and being a strong voice for the people of Myanmar. I also want to express my gratitude for the efforts of the UK on coordinating targeted sanctions against key tatmadaw personnel, tatmadaw
linked companies and enterprises such as MEC and MEHL, and for providing extra funding to the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar. Additionally, I would like to further thank the UK government for taking a strong leadership role in the UN and G7 summits on behalf of the people of Myanmar, and for the recognition
of CRPH and NUG as important voices of many in this nation.
The UK has announced additional measures targeting the Myanmar regime today (17 May), with new sanctions imposed against Myanmar Gems Enterprise (MGE). These latest sanctions aim to cut off a key source of funding for the military junta, which is responsible for serious human rights violations against the people of Myanmar, including the killing of children. Foreign Secretary of UK, Dominic Raab, said:
“The military junta in Myanmar continues to crush democracy and attack its own people with brutal ferocity. We are working with our allies to impose sanctions that hit the junta’s access to finance, and deliver a return to democracy.” The asset freeze imposed by the sanctions prevents anyone from dealing with funds
or economic resources which are owned or controlled by MGE and held in the UK. It also blocks others from providing funds or economic resources to MGE..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of International Cooperation Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-05-17
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sanctions - general, UK-Burma relations, Economic activities of the Myanmar Military, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Gems - mining and trade, Gems, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, National Unity Government (NUG)
Language:
Format :
pdf
Size:
58.94 KB
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Description:
"Today I would like to express my most sincere thanks to the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control for designating 16 individuals and one entity (the 'SAC') with strict sanctions who are supporting the killing of innocent
civilians nationwide, most recently in Mindat, Chin State.
I would also like to reiterate my sincere thanks to the People and Government of the United States of America for standing in solidarity and being a strong voice for the people of Myanmar. I also want to express my gratitude for the efforts of the U.S. on
coordinating targeted sanctions against key tatmadaw personnel, tatmadaw linked companies and enterprises such as MEC, MGE and MEHL. Additionally, I would like to further thank the United States government for taking a strong leadership role in
the UN and G7 summits on behalf of the people of Myanmar, and for the recognition of CRPH and NUG as important voices of many in this nation. The official press release is as follows:
"WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 16 individuals and one entity connected to Burma’s military regime. Thirteen of the individuals sanctioned today are key members of Burma’s military
regime, which is violently repressing the pro-democracy movement in the country and is responsible for the ongoing violent and lethal attacks against the people of Burma, including the killing of children. The other three individuals are adult children
of previously designated senior Burmese military officials. The entity is the State Administration Council (SAC), the body created by the military to support its unlawful overthrow of the democratically elected civilian government. These designations today are made pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14014, “Blocking Property with
Respect to the Situation in Burma.” These sanctions are not directed at the people of Burma. In concurrent actions, the U.K. and Canada also sanctioned persons and/or entities in relation to the on-going coup in Burma. “Burma’s military continues to commit human rights abuses and oppress the people of Burma. Today’s action demonstrates the United States' commitment to work with
our international partners to press the Burmese military and promote accountability for those responsible for the coup and ongoing violence," said Andrea Gacki, Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control. As a part of today’s action, the State Administrative Council (SAC) is designated for being a political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of the Government of Burma. The SAC, which is the official name of the military government in Burma, was
formed by Burma’s military on February 2, 2021. It is largely made up of military officials and led by Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, whom Treasury designated on February 11, 2021 pursuant to E.O. 14014. The following four individuals are designated pursuant to E.O. 14014 for being foreign persons who are or were leaders or officials of the Government of Burma on or after
February 2, 2021: Mahn Nyein Maung is a member of the SAC;
Thein Nyunt is a member of the SAC; • Sai Lone Saing is a member of the SAC; and Khin Maung Swe is a member of the SAC.
The following nine individuals, who are members of the military regime, are designated pursuant to E.0.14014 for being foreign persons who are or were leaders or officials of the Government of Burma on or after February 2, 2021: Ko Ko Hlaing is the Minister of International Cooperation; Tun Aung Myint is the Minister for Ethnic Affairs; • Tun Tun Naung is the Minister of Border Affairs;
• Than Nyein is the governor of the Central Bank of Burma;
• Pwint San is the Minister of Commerce; Win Shein is the Minister for Planning, Finance, and Industry; Thein Soe is the chairman of the military-appointed Union Election Commission, the regime’s electoral body; Thet Khaing Win is the Minister of Health and Sports; and
• Khin Maung Yi is the Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation. In addition to the individuals identified above, the following three individuals are designated pursuant to E.O. 14014 for being a spouse or adult child of a person
whose property and interests in property are blocked.
• Hein Htet is the adult child of SAC member General Maung Maung Kyaw, whom Treasury designated on February 22, 2021 pursuant to E.O. 14014; Kaung Htet is also an adult child of General Maung Maung Kyaw; and Yin Min Thu is the adult child of SAC member Admiral Tin Aung San, whom Treasury designated on February 11, 2021 pursuant to E.O. 14014..."
Source/publisher:
Ministry of International Cooperation Myanmar
Date of publication:
2021-05-18
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), USA-Burma relations, Sanctions - general, Economic activities of the Myanmar Military, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Chin State, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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Description:
"Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 16 individuals and one entity connected to Burma’s military regime.
Thirteen of the individuals sanctioned today are key members of Burma’s military regime, which is violently repressing the pro-democracy movement in the country and is responsible for the ongoing violent and lethal attacks against the people of Burma, including the killing of children. The other three individuals are adult children of previously designated senior Burmese military officials. The entity is the State Administration Council (SAC), the body created by the military to support its unlawful overthrow of the democratically elected civilian government. These designations today are made pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14014, “Blocking Property with Respect to the Situation in Burma.” These sanctions are not directed at the people of Burma. In concurrent actions, the U.K. and Canada also sanctioned persons and/or entities in relation to the on-going coup in Burma.
“Burma’s military continues to commit human rights abuses and oppress the people of Burma. Today’s action demonstrates the United States’ commitment to work with our international partners to press the Burmese military and promote accountability for those responsible for the coup and ongoing violence,” said Andrea Gacki, Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
As a part of today’s action, the State Administrative Council (SAC) is designated for being a political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of the Government of Burma. The SAC, which is the official name of the military government in Burma, was formed by Burma’s military on February 2, 2021. It is largely made up of military officials and led by Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, whom Treasury designated on February 11, 2021 pursuant to E.O. 14014.
The following four individuals are designated pursuant to E.O. 14014 for being foreign persons who are or were leaders or officials of the Government of Burma on or after February 2, 2021:
Mahn Nyein Maung is a member of the SAC;
Thein Nyunt is a member of the SAC;
Sai Lone Saing is a member of the SAC; and
Khin Maung Swe is a member of the SAC.
The following nine individuals, who are members of the military regime, are designated pursuant to E.O.14014 for being foreign persons who are or were leaders or officials of the Government of Burma on or after February 2, 2021:
Ko Ko Hlaing is the Minister of International Cooperation;
Tun Aung Myint is the Minister for Ethnic Affairs;
Tun Tun Naung is the Minister of Border Affairs;
Than Nyein is the governor of the Central Bank of Burma;
Pwint San is the Minister of Commerce;
Win Shein is the Minister for Planning, Finance, and Industry;
Thein Soe is the chairman of the military-appointed Union Election Commission, the regime’s electoral body;
Thet Khaing Win is the Minister of Health and Sports; and
Khin Maung Yi is the Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation.
In addition to the individuals identified above, the following three individuals are designated pursuant to E.O. 14014 for being a spouse or adult child of a person whose property and interests in property are blocked.
Hein Htet is the adult child of SAC member General Maung Maung Kyaw, whom Treasury designated on February 22, 2021 pursuant to E.O. 14014;
Kaung Htet is also an adult child of General Maung Maung Kyaw; and
Yin Min Thu is the adult child of SAC member Admiral Tin Aung San, whom Treasury designated on February 11, 2021 pursuant to E.O. 14014.
As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the persons named above that are in the United States, or in the possession or control of U.S. persons, are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.
Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or otherwise exempt, all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons are prohibited. The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any blocked person or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person..."
Source/publisher:
United States Department of the Treasury (USA)
Date of publication:
2021-05-17
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
USA-Burma relations, Sanctions - general, Economic activities of the Myanmar Military, Business and the Military, Sanctions, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
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Sub-title:
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announces sanctions on Myanmar Gems Enterprise (MGE), a state-owned enterprise under the military junta’s control.
Description:
"Foreign Secretary announces new sanctions against Myanmar Gems Enterprise
the move will deprive the junta of a key source of funding – the gem trade is a multi-billion dollar business for Myanmar
the UK has already sanctioned senior Myanmar military officers and their economic interests following February’s military coup
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has announced additional measures targeting the Myanmar regime today (17 May) with new sanctions imposed against Myanmar Gems Enterprise (MGE).
MGE is a state owned enterprise which oversees all gemstone activities in Myanmar and is now under the junta’s control following the military coup on 1 February.
The designation against MGE will cut off a key source of funding for the military junta, which continues to subvert democracy and is responsible for the violent repression and serious human rights violations against the people of Myanmar, including the killing of children. Myanmar is one of the world’s largest producers of rubies and jade – trade in jade for example is a multi-billion dollar business for the country.
Enforced with immediate effect, the sanctions are the first since the UK laid new Myanmar sanctions regulations in parliament on 29 April. They demonstrate the UK’s commitment to targeting the military junta’s funding streams to put pressure on them to immediately end the coup.
Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, said:
The military junta in Myanmar continues to crush democracy and attack its own people with brutal ferocity. We are working with our allies to impose sanctions that hit the junta’s access to finance, and deliver a return to democracy.
The asset freeze imposed by the sanctions prevents anyone from dealing with funds or economic resources which are owned or controlled by the designated entity and held in the UK. It also blocks others from providing funds or economic resources to the designated individual or entity – in this case MGE.
Today’s announcement, made in conjunction with the United States and Canada, follows the recent G7 and ASEAN meetings which reiterated the strong and united view of the international community in opposition to the actions of the military junta in Myanmar. The UK, alongside the G7, is urging all countries to immediately suspend arms sales to Myanmar and welcomes the recent suspension of sales by Japan and the Republic of Korea.
The UK is clear that ASEAN has a central role to play in resolving the crisis and that the military regime must implement the ASEAN Five Point Consensus without delay. The UK calls for all companies to cut ties with military-linked businesses with direct effect..."
Date of publication:
2021-05-17
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sanctions - general, UK-Burma relations, Economic activities of the Myanmar Military, Sanctions, Gems - mining and trade, Gems
Language:
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Description:
"I am delighted and grateful to learn today that the USA and UK have once again shown strong global leadership targeting coordinated sanctions on the illegitimate military regime in Myanmar.
The military regime has stolen democracy and freedom from our people and then poured out atrocities against innocent civilians. I would like to express my deepest appreciation to the USA and UK, who have taken a stand for the people of Myanmar who have suffered so much and for so long. These sanctions target the source of wealth and income of military Generals who have killed innocent people and committed ethnic cleansing against the Kachin, Karen, Kayah, Shan, Mon, Rakhine, Chin and Rohingya. These same Generals are guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity. They have repeatedly committed these crimes over many years. Specifically, in 1988 and 1997 when they killed hundreds of innocent unarmed students. In 2007 when they stood against peace-loving Buddhist monks during the Saffron revolution. In 2017 against the Rohingya population and now again in 2021, where they have killed more than 300 on the streets of Myanmar and illegally detained more than 2500 including democratically elected leaders, our State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and our President, U Win Myint.
These same military Generals have stolen both our country's wealth and our freedom by their smoking guns. These two holding companies, Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) and Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) have for many years been the means by which the military Generals have plundered our nation's riches and wealth for their own advantage. They continue to use this wealth to kill, destroy and wipe out the people of Myanmar.
We have been calling on the world to take targeted coordinated tougher sanctions, both economically and diplomatically. Without these, the military Generals will never understand what they have done. They have no regard for the sanctity of life, human rights, democracy, justice and international law. They have turned the military into a project to protect themselves rather than the people. They have used the armed forces to keep themselves in power at the expense of the people. They are content to live in a nation where they can murder people on the streets, and as long as they are in power, my people, the people of Myanmar, have no future.
The international community must continue to use all the power it has to weaken and stop the Tatmadaw military Generals, whose illegitimate actions cannot be allowed to be repeated again and again in the history of Myanmar. The threat to their personal finances, to the world and to their income, matters more to them than the freedom of our people, peaceful and courageous people of Myanmar
Through stronger, tougher, coordinated, targeted sanctions, the military Generals, their families and their supporters will finally start to bear some of the consequences of their crimes.
I therefore, urge all heads of governments and states around the world, to please follow the leadership of the USA and the UK, cooperating together and imposing targeted, stronger and tougher sanctions against the illegitimate military regime, the individuals in charge, the military companies and their subsidiaries, including sanctions on their business on financial , insurance services, oil and gas, timber and Jemstone..."
Source/publisher:
Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH)
Date of publication:
2021-03-26
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-17
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), Racial or ethnic discrimination in Burma: reports of violations against several groups, Sanctions - general, USA-Burma relations, UK-Burma relations, Sanctions, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
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132.73 KB 39.32 KB
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Description:
"Myanmar is on the brink of collapse. Its armed forces are continuing a brutal crackdown—arresting, torturing and killing protesters—as Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s de-facto leader, is detained. Our experts answer your questions..."
Source/publisher:
The Economist
Date of publication:
2021-05-11
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-16
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Human Rights and international relations, Racial or ethnic discrimination in Burma: reports of violations against several groups, China-Burma-India relations, Russia-Burma relations, Sanctions - general, Political History, Economic activities of the Myanmar Military, Business and the Military, Sanctions, Spring Revolution
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Sub-title:
Myanmar nationals continue ‘social punishment’ campaigns and lobby lawmakers abroad to blacklist the adult children of junta members
Description:
"The National Unity Government (NUG) is planning to work with foreign countries to introduce and expand sanctions against the overseas relatives of Myanmar’s coup council members, according to the NUG’s human rights minister.
The NUG is the interim government formed in late April by lawmakers ousted in Myanmar’s February 1 coup.
“We will coordinate with foreign affairs and immigration departments to sanction the [adult] children of those who are blacklisted,” NUG’s Minister of Human Rights Aung Myo Min said.
Aung Myo Min was a prominent rights activist before taking a Cabinet position within the NUG.
Following widespread killings of protesters by the regime’s armed forces, the US and European Union (EU) are among the international actors who imposed sanctions on members of the military junta and those related to them.
Since the coup, the US has announced sanctions against key junta leaders, the members of two Light Infantry Divisions, and two adult children of military chief Min Aung Hlaing. They are banned from the country, their American assets have been frozen and American citizens are prohibited from working with them.
The EU has imposed similar sanctions against 35 people in Myanmar, including members of the military, its council, and collaborating civilian politicians.
The Myanmar public both at home and abroad have been carrying out “social punishment” campaigns, identifying and exposing the family members of junta members and supporters online. The campaigns call for these individuals to be ostracised from the Myanmar community.
Myanmar nationals held protests in front of Japan’s Toyo University in March calling for the “social punishment” of Nan Lin Lae Oo, a student at Toyo and the daughter of Lt-Gen Kyaw Swar Lin, head of the Myanmar military’s Central Command.
Kyaw Swar Lin is accused of ordering soldiers to open fire on anti-regime protesters in Mandalay. The resulting crackdowns killed several civilians in February and March.
Nan Lin Lae Oo reportedly left Japan following the protests outside her university.
“We were told that Kyaw Swar Lin’s daughter has returned to Myanmar. We do not know exactly how, but she is no longer at the school,” Myat Thu Aung, who is working in Japan, told Myanmar Now.
He said that other Myanmar nationals in the country are lobbying Japanese lawmakers to back sanctions against family members of those behind the coup.
“Our message has arrived inside the Japanese parliament. There are some discussions going on among parliament members who are deciding what to do about those individuals,” Myat Thu Aung said.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported in early May that the Australian government’s department of home affairs had launched investigations into 22 relatives of Myanmar’s military council living in Australia, “amid concerns they are either harbouring assets or receiving financial support in the wake of the military coup.”
In the US, Myanmar activists are coordinating with state governments and representatives to gather information about the family members of the coup council members and their American finances.
“There are many steps left regarding action that can be taken by the US government. We are currently working with lawyers and lawmakers,” US-based Myanmar national Nay Tin Myint told Myanmar Now.
The NUG’s human rights minister Aung Myo Min said that his cabinet is also documenting the violence perpetrated by the junta with the aim of filing complaints against military members at the International Criminal Court.
“The consequences would have an impact on many future generations,” he said of an international prosecution.
The military’s armed forces have killed at least 781 people since it seized power from the elected civilian government in a coup on February 1, according to a tally compiled by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)...."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-05-11
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-11
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
National Unity Government (NUG), Sanctions - general, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Sanctions, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
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